Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 3).djvu/109

 redecorating some simple old weapon, or in counterfeiting the whole dagger. The cinquedea doubtless had its origin in the XIVth century; but we are unable to recall any actual example of the weapon which it would be safe to assign to an earlier date than about 1440-50. According to the Baron de Cosson that small cinquedea formerly in the Ressman Collection, now in the Metropolitan Museum of New York (Fig. 849), belongs to the second quarter of the XVth century. This primitive little weapon is possibly of Veronese make; for we note certain points in which it differs from the conventional Venetian cinquedea of later date. The bronze arch-shaped pommel is small for the proportions of the grip; whilst the iron quillons are formed to the outline of a thin crescent moon inverted. The blade has a central ridge, and is in no way grooved.

Italian, probably Veronese, about 1440-50 Metropolitan Museum, New York

The construction of the cinquedea of the second half of the XVth century is nearly always the same, varying only in the proportion of the hilt to the blade. The latter is langue de bœuf shaped, its tang passing through the quillon, and afterwards widening almost to the extent of the plaques that constitute the grip. This latter has its greatest breadth in the centre, while at the pommel end the blade tang again widens to a semicircular form. On this fits the arch either of iron or bronze gilt that constitutes the pommel. The quillons are nearly always of flattened oblong section, drooping archways over the blade on which they fit. The grip as a rule is overlaid with plaques of ivory, wood, horn, or even mother-of-pearl. These plaques follow exactly the outline of the blade tang, and are usually secured to it by three or four hollow ring rivets, which in many cases are decorated with a tracery in flattened brass wire. Enrichments are added in the form of a strip of gilded metal or silver running down and concealing the edges of the blade tang. The whole hilt is remarkably flat, if