The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 26, 2024

Rapier

Rapier

c. 1620–30
(German, 1586–1617)
Germany, Solingen, 17th century
steel, blued and gilded
Overall: 111.1 cm (43 3/4 in.); Blade: 89.2 cm (35 1/8 in.); Quillions: 21.3 cm (8 3/8 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.697
Location: 210A Armor Court

Did You Know?

The "Pappenheimer" hilt seen here is named after Count Pappenheimer (1594-1632) who popularized the style which offered more protection to the hand with its large pierced plates.

Description

This weapon has an especially handsome configuration of hilt, pommel, quillons, and guard. The blade is also very finely wrought and bears the mark (a unicorn head) of the German swordsmith, Clemens Horn, of Solingen, a town near Düsseldorf. The Latin inscription on the blade reads in translation: "Neither without cause, nor fearfully/Between arms and silent law/ Prize truth and the fight for one's country."
  • Charles Alexander, Baron de Cosson (1846-1929), England
    ?-1916
    Frank Gair Macomber (1849-1941), Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1916-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, and Helen Ives Gilchrist. Handbook of the Severance Collection of Arms and Armor. 2d ed., 1948. Reproduction: p. 39 archive.org
    Catalogue of Arms and Armour. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], 1900. cat. no. 440 archive.org
    Gilchrist, Helen Ives. A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924. Mentioned: p. 111, E57; Reproduced: Plate XXIX, E57 archive.org
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. pp. 116, 168; cat. no. 129
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 176, p. 191
  • Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
  • {{cite web|title=Rapier|url=false|author=Clemens Horn|year=c. 1620–30|access-date=26 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.697