Vittoriano
Sword
French production Late-13th century
On display at
Palazzo Venezia
Sword datable to the late thirteenth century. It has a long, fullered blade; the long tang has a quadrangular cross-section; the bulky fungiform pommel is lenticular in shape; the hilt has square-sectioned branches whose straight arms tend to broaden at the ends.
Sword datable to the late thirteenth century. It has a long, fullered blade; the long tang has a quadrangular cross-section; the bulky fungiform pommel is lenticular in shape; the hilt has square-sectioned branches whose straight arms tend to broaden at the ends.
Details of work
Denomination: Sword Milieu French production Object date: Late-13th century Material:
Iron
Technique:
Forging
Dimensions: width 13 cm; thickness 1 cm
Typology:
Weapons
Acquisition: June 30, 1959 Place: Palazzo Venezia
Main inventory number:
11835
Other numbers: Odescalchi n. 545
Catalog entry
Sword with long, fullered blade with long tang; the bulky fungiform pommel is of the lenticular disc type; the hilt has square-sectioned straight quillons broadening towards the ends. The long square-section tang allows the weapon to be wielded with one or two hands. The sword has been likened to the San Maurizio sword from Turin’s Armeria Reale which can be dated to the second half of the thirteenth century, while the type of hilt—introduced to allow the sword to be wielded with greater agility on horseback—would lead one to assign the sword to the fourteenth century (Scalini 2018). The sword was probably modified during its use (Scalini 2007). However, this sword is by no means an antiquarian “hodgepodge”—its structure is well balanced in terms of use, which is why it is possible to date it to the late thirteenth century (Scalini 2018).
Chiara Paniccia
State of conservation
The blade is badly deteriorated, while the hilt, tang, and pommel are all in fair condition. The iron is oxidized.
Provenance
Collezione Odescalchi, 1959.
Exhibition history
Rome, Palazzo Venezia, Antiche armi dal sec. IX al XVIII già Collezione Odescalchi, May–July 1969;
Aosta, Museo Archeologico Regionale, A bon droyt. Spade di uomini liberi, cavalieri e santi. Epées d’hommes libres chevaliers et saints, June 29–November 4, 2007;
Rome, Castel Sant’Angelo; Palazzo Venezia, VeneziaArmi e potere nell’Europa del Rinascimento, July 26–November 11, 2018.
Sources and documents
Tomei Alessandro, Scheda OA n. 33975 of the Soprintendenza per i beni artistici e storici di Roma, October 1977.
References
di Carpegna Nolfo (a cura di), Antiche armi dal sec. IX al XVIII già Collezione Odescalchi, catalogo della mostra (Roma, Palazzo Venezia, maggio-luglio 1969), Roma 1969, p. 34;
di Carpegna Nolfo, Le armi Odescalchi, Roma 1976, p. 34;
Scalini, 12. Maestro spadaio dell'Europa settentrionale. Spada (composita), in Scalini Mario (a cura di), A bon droyt. Spade di uomini liberi, cavalieri e santi. Epées d'hommes libres chevaliers et saints, catalogo della mostra (Aosta, Museo Archeologico Regionale, 29 giugno-4 novembre 2007), Cinisello Balsamo 2007, p. 110;
Scalini, I.4 Spada, in Scalini Mario (a cura di), Armi e potere nell'Europa del Rinascimento, catalogo della mostra (Roma, Castel Sant'Angelo; Palazzo Venezia, 26 luglio-11 novembre 2018), Cinisello Balsamo 2018, p. 49.
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