AN ITALIAN MULTI-RING RAPIER, CIRCA 1630-40

AN ITALIAN MULTI-RING RAPIER, CIRCA 1630-40 with long tapering blade of flattened-diamond section (small filled repairs), rectangular ricasso engraved with an oval mark on each face (rubbed, perhaps for Federico Piccinino), symmetrical iron hilt of slender rounded bars, comprising a pair of vertically recurved straight quillons, inner and outer ring-guards each of seven bars, the uppermost joined to the knuckle-guard by an additional bar, fitted with a pierced and chased plate decorated with foliage enclosing a green man mask at the base, later ovoid pommel, and the grip bound with plaited wire between 'Turk's Heads' 114.2 cm; 45 in blade For the mark see Boccia and Coelho 1975, p. 391, no. 532.