Hilt of a Dagger
This very unusual hilt was purchased by Arms and Armor founding curator Bashford Dean from a Parisian dealer about 1895 and is his earliest personal acquisition that can be identified in the Metropolitan Museum's collection today. Dean considered it to be possibly Venetian and made about 1300. He may have interpreted the strongly Asian nature of the dragons entwined around the grip as indicative of a place where eastern and western styles mixed, and therefore concluded that it originated in Venice, an active crossroads between Europe and Asia in the Middle Ages. The actual place of origin and date of this hilt, however, remain open to question.
Artwork Details
- Title: Hilt of a Dagger
- Date: ca. 1300
- Geography: possibly Venice
- Culture: possibly Italian, Venice
- Medium: Ivory
- Dimensions: L. 5 in. (12.7 cm); W. 2 5/16 (5.9 cm); D. 1 9/16 (4 cm); Wt. 5.4 oz (153.1 g)
- Classification: Daggers
- Credit Line: Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Funds from various donors, 1929
- Object Number: 29.158.658a
- Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor
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On loan to The Met
European, possibly Italy
ca. 1300
possibly southern Italian
ca. 1200
Sword Pommel with the Arms of Pierre de Dreux (ca. 1187–1250), Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond
French
ca. 1240–50
French
12th–13th century
Western European, possibly England
ca. 1350–60
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