How would you date the light Italian sword the hilt of which resembles those illustrated on the Pavia painting?
Hi Michael,
Do you mean the sword in my collection, it is not so light piece
I would date it around 1560-1570, but this one is not so easy
the shell shaped pommel with pierced holes appeared already at the end of the 15thC.
the simple hilt form with ring guard and knuckle guard with disk shape terminals
like this are seen around second quarter of the 16thC on-wards. the Counter guard with this type of "hook" and thumb guard can also be seen on many later 16thC swords (Fe Tussacks) and the same striped decoration can be found on a 1510 sword hilt published by Oakeshott in European A&A.
best regards from Holland
So what do you think Michael