Noble sword of present or ceremonial type Cinquedea. Northern Italy around 1490-1510. Complete file in French > https://www.aucties.com/epee-nobiliaire-de-present-ou-d-apparat-de-type-cinquedea Complete file in English > https://en.aucties.com/epee-nobiliaire-de-present-ou-d-apparat-de-type-cinquedea The engravings on the blade are similar to those produced in the workshop of the iron silversmith Ercole dei Fedeli, who was active at the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th. Close to the circles of Italian power, in particular Isabella d'Este and the court of Mantua, it is essentially his production as a "sword engraver" that is known to us, characterized by figures evolving in complex architectural spaces in the antique style, figures in medallions added with scrolls and grotesques. Overall typology From a typological point of view, the sword is similar to the cinquedea, a short ceremonial sword with a flat triangular blade punctuated by flutes. Worn exclusively in civilian life, it enjoyed a fleeting fortune with the Italian princes of the Renaissance at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. The blades were often richly decorated with ornamental motifs in vogue at the time, as well as allegorical and mythological scenes intended for a refined and cultured public capable of perceiving their meaning. If we refer to the example kept in the Louvre Museum (inv. MRR 58), to the one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (inv. 14.25.1172) or to the sword of Cesare Borgia preserved in the Casa Caetani, it seems that there may have been a rare production of similar weapons in elongated versions. . One can read in "The swords of honor distributed by the popes" by Eugene Muntz, 1895. : "The pope offered swords of honor; each year and they are characterized by works of art in all the strength of the term: the chiseling, the damascene, the enamel, fought there of smoothness and elegance; scrolls of an exquisite taste alternated with subtle allegories or inscriptions in beautiful Ciceronian Latin. And first of all let us point out the originality of their form and their ornamentation: these weapons were intended to be held with both hands, the point in the air." Ewart Oakeshott classifies the blade as type XXI.I and the guard as type IX. "Appears to be typically fifteenth century despite some known examples from the thirteenth century. The arms form like a ribbon that would be perpendicular to the plane of the blade. The frame Materials Copper and gilded bronze. The pommel Knob of rivet visible in its top. A cartouche made of two bronze plates embossed, chased and gilded in a gilded bronze belt. On one side, Minerva in the center of a fight. On the other, Victoria or Niké on the triumphal chariot with the eight-branched solar wheel preceding Renommée sounding her trumpet. Related work: Present in the collections of the National Gallery of Art Washington on a sword pommel plaque with cartouche a representation of the judgment of Paris NI :1942.9.207. Scene that we find engraved on the blade of our sword. Symbolism : Minerva, goddess of high thinking and warfare conducted through strategy. Fama, goddess of fame making heroes immortal, never letting their memories die. The Roman triumph is a Roman ceremony during which a parade is organized where the victorious general parades on a chariot at the head of his troops. The solar wheel with four axes and eight branches is a symbol of sacred division of space and time. Associated with the triumphal chariot, it can represent temporal power. We can think that the recipient of this work of art had a battle that he won thanks to his strategic skills, offering him a position of power in the city and a triumph in his city and a triumph in his victory. The rocket In gilded copper. Made of two halves held in the center by a laurel wreath ring. The two ends are held in place by the pommel and the guard. It is decorated with a candelabra and bucranium. Related works : The same type of composition can be found in an engraving printed in Florence dating from 1470-1490 reproduced in the book "Les premières gravures italiennes" by Gisèle Lambert, kept at the BNF, Florence, Ornaments, Cat 216-276. "Burin in a wide manner" 262X46. Around 1470-1490. Symbolism: The bucranium is a canonical ornamental motif of the ancient Doric order taken up again from the Renaissance evoking the remains of animals sacrificed in honor of the gods. It should be noted that the Doric order was often associated with heroic figures and male deities in the Renaissance because of the writings of the Roman architect Vitruvius. This could explain the choice of this motif on the hilt. Such weapons were intended for a scholarly audience and were meant to showcase this erudition. The guard Made of assembled copper plates, chiseled and decorated with a