Rapier

hilt, ca. 1580; blade, later

Not on view

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.

Artwork Details

Title: Rapier
Date: hilt, ca. 1580; blade, later
Culture: hilt, French; blade, European
Medium: Steel, gold, silver
Dimensions: L. 43 3/4 in. (111.1 cm); L. of blade 28 in. (71.1 cm); W. 6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm); D. 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 14 oz. (1304.1 g)
Classification: Swords
Credit Line: Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913
Object Number: 14.25.1159
Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

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