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Transitional Rapier

A work made of steel, iron, silver, copper, wood.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of steel, iron, silver, copper, wood.

Date:

c. 1660

Artist:

Northern European, probably English

About this artwork

Transitioning from the long-bladed rapier, the reduced blade length and smaller guard size of this sword anticipate later smallswords. Like the contemporary cup-hilted rapiers displayed to the left, this sword was designed for a fencing style that relied almost entirely on the point. Its blackened iron hilt is finely encrusted with silver portraits of ancient Roman emperors.

Status

On View, Gallery 239

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Title

Transitional Rapier

Place

Northern Europe (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1650–1670

Medium

Steel, iron, silver, copper, wood

Dimensions

Overall L. 108.5 cm (42 3/4 in.) Blade L. 91.5 cm (36 in.) Wt. 1 lb. 4 oz.

Credit Line

George F. Harding Collection

Reference Number

1982.3332

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/117181/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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