Lot 146
146
AN UNUSUAL ITALIAN RAPIER with associated sharply tapering blade of flattened hexagonal section narrowing sharply below the forte, the latter with central fuller on each face engraved 'Respublica Genova 1510', short ricasso, cruciform hilt of blackened iron comprising long straight quillons of circular section with barrel-shaped terminals, formed of steel washers of varying sizes threaded over a core and chiselled to represent acanthus leaves, rosettes and bands of repeated ovals, iron grip en suite, and ovoidal pommel chiselled with repeated ovals, the hilt Florentine or Brescian, circa 1650

Details
AN UNUSUAL ITALIAN RAPIER with associated sharply tapering blade of flattened hexagonal section narrowing sharply below the forte, the latter with central fuller on each face engraved 'Respublica Genova 1510', short ricasso, cruciform hilt of blackened iron comprising long straight quillons of circular section with barrel-shaped terminals, formed of steel washers of varying sizes threaded over a core and chiselled to represent acanthus leaves, rosettes and bands of repeated ovals, iron grip en suite, and ovoidal pommel chiselled with repeated ovals, the hilt Florentine or Brescian, circa 1650
37½in. blade

Lot Essay

This sword belongs to a rare group of swords and daggers with hilts of similarly constructed and chiselled iron washers, some of which are in the Bargello, Florence

See L.G. Boccia & E.T. Coelho, Armi Bianche Italiane, 1975, Figs. 621-7, and A.V.B. Norman, The Rapier and Small-Sword, 1980, pp.375-6

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