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Cinquedea: HEN.M.198-1933

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Maker(s)

Production: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Long sword of cinquedea type, in excavated condition. The acutely arched cross, cusped at the ecusson, survives, but the plates of ivory (?walrus ivory) which formed the hilt are considerably perished. The arched cap of steel which would have formed the pommel is missing. Inlaid in the ivory grip are three small roundels of filigree work in latten.

Notes

History note: De Cosson Sale 14th May, 1929, lot 76

Measurements and weight

Length: 93.5 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1933-03-16) by Henderson, James Stewart

Dating

15th Century-16th Century
Circa 1490 CE - 1510 CE

Note

Italian, Venice

The type of sword, a very large variety of the cinquedea, is rare, but four other outstanding examples survive. The most important is the sword of Cesare Borgia, of 1493 (Rome, Casa Caetani); another, known as the Pucci sword on account of the arms upon the bronze pommel, was sold in same sale 14.5.29 (Sotheby's, second sale of the De Cosson Collection). Both these swords, though they have blades of the same form as the above, have conventional hilts with arched crosses and disc pommels. The other two examples have the same 'cinquedea' hilt, formed of plates of bone/ivory with filigree insets. One is in Naples (CA 3625) and the other, once in the Oakeshott collection, is now in private hands.

Components of the work

Blade composed of steel Length 78 cm
Grip Inlay composed of ivory
Hilt composed of ivory
Blade At Hilt Width 6 cm
Decoration

Techniques used in production

Casting (process) : Sword, cast, decorated with plate and inlaid ivory

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: HEN.M.198-1933
Primary reference Number: 18889

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 30 April 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Cinquedea" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/18889 Accessed: 2025-12-24 22:11:42

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/18889 |title=Cinquedea |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-24 22:11:42|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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