Daggers with I-shaped grips were known as baselards, after the city of Basel, and were considered a national arm of the Swiss. Splendidly decorated specimens such as this one, with elaborate gilt bronze mounts and scabbards, were worn by officers and wealthy burghers, who usually also held high-ranking positions in the militia. The figural decoration on the scabbard represents the story of William Tell, the Swiss national hero.
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Title:Swiss Dagger with Sheath, Bodkin, and By-Knife
Date:ca. 1570
Culture:Swiss
Medium:Steel, gold, bronze, wood, textile
Dimensions:Dagger (04.3.130); L. with sheath 17 5/8 in. (44.8 cm); L. without sheath 15 3/4 in. (40 cm); W. 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 1.5 oz. (496.1 g); Wt. of sheath 13.3 oz. (377 g); bodkin (04.3.131); L. 7 1/16 in. (17.9 cm); Wt. 0.8 oz. (22.7 g); knife (04.3.132); L. 8 1/16 in. (20.5 cm); W. 5/8 in. (1.6 cm); Wt. 1.1 oz. (31.2 g)
Classification:Daggers
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1904
Accession Number:04.3.130–.132
[Louis Carrand, Paris and Lyon, before d. 1888]; [Frédéric Spitzer, Paris, until d. 1890; his estate, 1890–95; Armes et armures faisant partie de la collection Spitzer, Georges Petit, Paris, June 10–14, 1895, no. 282, for Fr. 4150]; [S. Goldschmidt, Paris, until 1897; by exchange May 26, 1897 to Ressman]; Costantino Ressman, Paris and Florence (1897–99; sold along with thirty-three other knives, for Fr. 37,000, to Dino); Charles Maurice Camille de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Dino, Paris (1899–1904; sold to MMA).
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. 49.
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. 49.
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. 49.
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. 49.
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. 49.
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. 49.
Spitzer, Frédéric. "Armes et Armures." In La Collection Spitzer: Antiquité--Moyen-Âge--Renaissance. Vol. VI. Paris: Maison Quantin, 1892. p. 51, cat. no. 219, pl. 37.
Galerie Georges Petit. Catalogue des Armes et Armures Faisant Partie de la Collection Spitzer. Paris: Galerie Georges Petit, June 10–14 1895. p. 24, lot 282, ill.
Cosson, Charles Alexander. Le Cabinet d'Armes de Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duc de Dino. Paris: E. Rouveyre, 1901. p. 76, cat. no. G. 28, pl. 17.
Heinemann, Franz. Tell-Iconographie: Wilhelm Tell und sein Apfelschuss im Lichte der bildenden Kunst eines halben Jahrtausends (15.-20. Jahrhundert) mit Berücksichtigung der Wechselwirkung der Tell-Poesie. Luzern: Doleschal, 1902. p. 14–15, 55, fig 9–10.
Dean, Bashford, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Catalogue of European Arms and Armor. Hand-book (Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)), Vol. 15. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1905. p. 170, pl. 86 S.
Cripps-Day, Francis Henry. A Record of Armour Sales, 1881–1924. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1925. p. 83, fig. 49.
Dean, Bashford. Catalogue of European Court Swords and Hunting Swords: Including the Ellis, De Dino, Riggs, and Reubell Collections. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929. pp. 32–33, no. 15, pl. VII.
Dean, Bashford. Catalogue of European Daggers: Including the Ellis, De Dino, Riggs, and Reubell Collections. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929. pp. 32–33, cat. no. 15, pl. VII.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "The New Galleries of European Arms and Armor." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (May 1956), p. 232, right (ill.).
Bosson, Clément. "Les dagues Suisses." Genava n.s. 12 pp. 167–198.
Schneider, Hugo. Der Schweizerdolch: Waffen- und kulturgeschichtliche Entwicklung mit vollständiger Dokumentation der bekannten Originale und Kopien. Zürich: Orell Füssli Verlag, 1977. p. 160, cat. no. 104, ill.
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. 95–96, no. 49, ill.
Grancsay, Stephen V., and Stuart W. Pyhrr. Arms & Armor: Essays by Stephen V. Grancsay from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 1920–1964. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986. pp. 421–439, fig. 107.16.
Nickel, Helmut. "Arms and Armor from the Permanent Collection." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 1991), pp. 35, 64, ill.
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