Help on mark on Italian sword ca. 1580

fernando · 18th September 2019, 04:12 PM

By the way Ray, does this beautiful sword belong in your personal collection ?

Jim McDougall · 18th September 2019, 05:29 PM

Thank you Ray for sharing this amazing storta (well called Fernando!).
The interesting raised rib in the grip reminds me of zweihander swords of the period, and it is tempting to wonder if this may have been en suite.
We know that rapiers often came in sets in this manner with alternate hand daggers (typically termed left hand daggers ).

As far as the singular use of the well known form seen here, as Fernando has noted, surely we have seen this instance before, in fact many times, but finding it will take some of the sleuths here. I know it is possible as I am always amazed at how some of the guys here find stuff posted some time before, Rick and Fernando himself are the two that come to mind in pulling up these exemplars.

Ray, actually that is a well placed observation, that perhaps the mark (though with some commonality it seems in the makers community) might have the same origin as some of the multiple groupings. Again, as we know these marks were not to a specific maker, possibly their use in number or varied configurations might have been peculiar to a certain one.
With many commonly known devices found on blades, we know that certain ones were favored by certain makers.

In the case for example of Wundes, the use of a kings head was known to be a mark used by him and his family. There are varied examples of blades where the same kings head is punched in repeated number in groupings, sometimes as many as five or more.

This seems a prime indicator that number of marks, of the same kind, and in varied configuration, could have some esoteric significance known in the time, but unrecorded and now lost. It is yet another of the conundrums that bring sleepless nights to obsessive researchers such as yours truly

18th September 2019, 04:12 PM	#1
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	By the way Ray, does this beautiful sword belong in your personal collection ?

18th September 2019, 05:29 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,281	Thank you Ray for sharing this amazing storta (well called Fernando!). The interesting raised rib in the grip reminds me of zweihander swords of the period, and it is tempting to wonder if this may have been en suite. We know that rapiers often came in sets in this manner with alternate hand daggers (typically termed left hand daggers ). As far as the singular use of the well known form seen here, as Fernando has noted, surely we have seen this instance before, in fact many times, but finding it will take some of the sleuths here. I know it is possible as I am always amazed at how some of the guys here find stuff posted some time before, Rick and Fernando himself are the two that come to mind in pulling up these exemplars. Ray, actually that is a well placed observation, that perhaps the mark (though with some commonality it seems in the makers community) might have the same origin as some of the multiple groupings. Again, as we know these marks were not to a specific maker, possibly their use in number or varied configurations might have been peculiar to a certain one. With many commonly known devices found on blades, we know that certain ones were favored by certain makers. In the case for example of Wundes, the use of a kings head was known to be a mark used by him and his family. There are varied examples of blades where the same kings head is punched in repeated number in groupings, sometimes as many as five or more. This seems a prime indicator that number of marks, of the same kind, and in varied configuration, could have some esoteric significance known in the time, but unrecorded and now lost. It is yet another of the conundrums that bring sleepless nights to obsessive researchers such as yours truly