id:			97052
accession number:	1916.706
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.706
updated:		2021-09-09 09:00:42.869000

Cup-Hilted Rapier, c.1610–30. Italy, Milan?, 17th century. Steel, pierced, chased and chiseled; wire ferrules on leather-covered wood grip; overall: 123.2 cm (48 1/2 in.); blade: 100.9 cm (39 3/4 in.); quillions: 25.2 cm (9 15/16 in.); grip: 11.8 cm (4 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.706

title:				Cup-Hilted Rapier
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c.1610–30
creation date earliest:		1605
creation date latest:		1635
current location:		210A Armor Court
creditline:			Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
copyright:			

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culture:	Italy, Milan?, 17th century
technique:	steel, pierced, chased and chiseled; wire ferrules on leather-covered wood grip
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: 123.2 cm (48 1/2 in.); Blade: 100.9 cm (39 3/4 in.); Quillions: 25.2 cm (9 15/16 in.); Grip: 11.8 cm (4 5/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:

	description:	pierced and chased cup
	watermarks:	

inscriptions:

	inscription:	inscribed on blade: FPNDRITH (on one face) RDFTPHNI (on the other)
	translation:	
	remark:		

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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

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PROVENANCE

	Ralph Bernal (1784-1854), London, England
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(Sale: Christie, Manson & Woods, London. Works of art, from the Byzantine period to that of Louis Seize. Mar 5-Apr 30, 1855.)
	date: 1855
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	George Francis William Henry Denison, Earl of Londesborough (1892-1920)
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Edwin J. Brett (1828-1895), London, England
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Frank Gair Macomber (1849-1941), Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?-1916
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1916-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
Over time the blade of a rapier became longer, based on a belief that a longer blade made it easier to hit one's adversary and, at the same time stay beyond the reach of his weapon.

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 <em>rapière</em>, which in turn derived from the Spanish <em>espada ropera</em>, 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

	Christie, Manson &amp; Woods, London. <em>Works of art, from the Byzantine period to that of Louis Seize.</em> Mar 5-Apr 30, 1855.
	page number: 	Mentioned: p. 213, lot 2453
	url:		https://archive.org/details/Byzantine/page/n261

	<em>Catalogue of Arms and Armour.</em> Vol. 2, <em>16th century. </em>[Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], [1900-1915].
	page number: 	Mentioned and Reproduced: No. (90) 92
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CatArmsArmour2_201602/page/n381

	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. 117-118, E72; Reproduced: Plate XXXI, E72
	url:		https://archive.org/details/SeveranceCollection1924/page/n179

	Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.
	page number: 	pp. 113, 169; cat. no. 137
	url:		

	Fliegel, Stephen N.<em> Arms &amp; Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
	page number: 	cat. no. 180, p. 191
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.706/1916.706_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.706/1916.706_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.706/1916.706_full.tif