The rapier was the principal civilian sidearm throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Designed for cut-and-thrust fencing of progressively complex techniques, the rapier is characterized by a double-edged blade with an acute point and an elaborate guard for the hand. The guards, usually of iron or steel, were subject to a variety of embellishment. They were engraved, chiseled, gilded, damascened, and encrusted in gold and silver in keeping with fashionable styles.
Unless otherwise noted, the materials, attributions, and dating given here refer to the hilts. Rapier blades, invariably of steel, bear a variety of maker’s marks denoting their origin in the two principal centers of blademaking, Toledo in Spain and Solingen in Germany.
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Title:Cup-Hilted Rapier
Date:ca. 1650
Culture:hilt, Spanish; blade, German
Medium:Steel
Dimensions:L. 45 3/4 in. (116.2 cm); L. of blade 41 in. (104.1 cm); W. 12 1/4 in. (31.1 cm); D. 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 3 oz. (992.2 g)
Classification:Swords
Credit Line:Gift of Mrs. Bashford Dean, in memory of Alexander McMillan Welch, 1949
Object Number:49.120.10
Louisville, Ky. Speed Art Museum. "European Arms and Armor: A Loan Exhibition," November 15, 1952–December 28, 1952, no. 41.
Hagerstown, Md. Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. "Loan Exhibition of Medieval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 27–March 31, 1955, no. 63.
Newark. Newark Museum Association. "Loan Exhibition of Medieval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 15–September 15, 1955, no. 63.
Flint. Flint Institute of Arts. "The Art of the Armorer," December 7, 1967–April 1, 1968, no. 44.
Seattle, Wash. Seattle Art Museum. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," March 11, 1982–June 6, 1982, no. 54.
Denver, Colo. Denver Art Museum. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," July 18–October 10, 1982, no. 54.
San Antonio, Tex. Witte Museum of the San Antonio Museum Association. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 13, 1982–February 5, 1983, no. 54.
Minneapolis, Minn. Minneapolis Institute of Arts. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 24–July 31, 1983, no. 54.
San Francisco. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 5, 1983–January 28, 1984, no. 54.
Detroit, Mich. Detroit Institute of Arts. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 4–June 17, 1984, no. 54.
Weyersberg, Albert. Solinger Schwertschmiede des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts und ihre Erzeungnisse. Solingen, Germany: Verein für Technik und Industrie, 1926. pp. 16–17 (refers to maker Heinrich Col).
Grancsay, Stephen V., and Speed Art Museum. European Arms and Armor: A Loan Exhibition. Louisville, Ky.: Speed Art Museum, 1952. no. 41.
Grancsay, Stephen V., The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. Loan Exhibition of Medieval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hagerstown, Md.: Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, February 27–March 31, 1955. pp. 18–19, no. 63, ill.
Flint Institute of Arts and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Art of the Armorer. Flint, Mich., December 7, 1967–April 1, 1968. no. 44.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Helmut Nickel, Stuart W. Pyhrr, Leonid Tarassuk, and American Federation of Arts. The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: An Exhibition. New York: The Federation, 1982. pp. 102–103, no. 54, ill.
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