id:			95810
accession number:	1916.1498
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1498
updated:		2022-10-28 20:18:44.036000

Rapier, c. 1630–50. Germany, 17th century. Steel; blued, gilded, and perforated blade; overall: 100.3 cm (39 1/2 in.); blade: 86.5 cm (34 1/16 in.); quillions: 13 cm (5 1/8 in.); grip: 12.3 cm (4 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1498

title:				Rapier
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1630–50
creation date earliest:		1625
creation date latest:		1655
current location:		210A Armor Court
creditline:			Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
copyright:			

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culture:	Germany, 17th century
technique:	steel; blued, gilded, and perforated blade
department:	Medieval Art
collection:	MED - Arms & Armor
type:		Arms and Armor
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 100.3 cm (39 1/2 in.); Blade: 86.5 cm (34 1/16 in.); Quillions: 13 cm (5 1/8 in.); Grip: 12.3 cm (4 13/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Armor Court Reinstallation
	opening date:   1998-09-10T00:00:00
	<i>Armor Court Reinstallation</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* The Cleveland Museum of Art (09/10/1998); "Armor Court Reinstallation"

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PROVENANCE

	Frank Gair Macomber; Boston; cat. #485.
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 


digital description: 


wall description: 
The rapier was a sword worn with civilian dress and used in duels. The term rapier derives from a 16th-century French word rapière, which in turn derived from the Spanish espada ropera, or “dress sword.” The rapier was a light weapon with a straight double-edged and pointed blade that, with the development of the art of fencing in the 1500s and 1600s, gradually became narrower and lighter, and thus suitable for thrusts only. With the new technique of swordplay emphasizing the point of the blade, sword guards became more complex to protect the duelist’s unarmored hand. These elaborate guards were frequently decorated by various techniques—chiseling, bluing, russeting, and damascening.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Gilchrist, Helen Ives. <em>A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms &amp; Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923</em>. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924.
	page number: 	Mentioned: p. 126, E88; Reproduced: Plate XXXII, E88
	url:		https://archive.org/details/SeveranceCollection1924/page/n189

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1498/1916.1498_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1498/1916.1498_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1498/1916.1498_full.tif