Cleveland Museum of Art

Cup-Hilted Rapier

Date

c. 1650

Medium

Pierced and chiseled steel;

Culture

Spain, Toledo, 17th century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

For parrying, rapiers were often made with accompanying daggers as a matched set. The aristocracy's taste for rich and intricate styles of decoration led to extravagant gilding, chiseling, piercing, enameling, and silvering. The more costly or unusual these weapons appeared, the more they were desired by the clientele who commissioned them, not only for dueling but also as the ultimate accessory. The guard is richly decorated with chiseled and pierced arabesques, an ornamental design consisting of intertwined flowing lines.

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