Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 3).djvu/113

 limbs he makes us think of the décadents of Primaticcio, of Rosso, of Niccolo del Abbate." He describes in detail all the curious points of Fideli's art, and adds: "He must have known the great Venetian printers, and one is struck on comparing his work with the first page of the Herodotus of 1494, printed at Venice," and the author would remark here that collectors are prone, when dating a sword which bears an inscription, to neglect the evidence of the lettering of the inscriptions. We have already described the Borgia sword in volume ii on page 272, Fig. 648.

We will endeavour, though the date of the weapon is to a certain degree a matter of guesswork, to deal with the oldest of the cinquedea with which we are acquainted—a fine late XVth century weapon in the Wallace Collection, No. 98 (Fig. 851), unfortunately in a very decayed condition. We yield to it pride of place because with its great massive arch-shaped pommel and thick quillons, the ends of which are unfortunately missing, it seems to us far grander and more impressive in its form than its rivals. The fine blade is 17-3/4 inches long, having each face divided into nine facets enriched with a gold inlaid design introducing the mythological subject of Europa and the bull. In the Wallace Collection are eight other cinquedea of the same type, Nos. 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 99, 100, and 101 (Fig. 852). Of these No. 91 is perhaps the most remarkable; for, although the weapon is not in its original condition, for it has had the grip added, as has been the fate of nearly all the other cinquedea, the actual blade is really a superb specimen of its kind, being 19 inches long and 4-1/8 inches wide at the hilt, its surface divided into fourteen facet panels on either side. At the hilt it is decorated with a composition representing the worship of the Golden Calf, etched and splendidly gilt; while panels of ornamentation in chequered form constitute nearly the whole of the remaining decoration. Of the same type as the Wallace cinquedea is that admirable large example in the Victoria and Albert Museum obtained from the collection of the late Mr. W. H. Spiller. In the latter case the ivory grip plates appear to be the originals (Fig. 853).

There is a fine cinquedea with its sheath in the Royal Collection, Windsor, No. 30 in the 1906 Catalogue (Fig. 854). This weapon, which bears as an armourer's mark the letter "P" impressed, was sent to Windsor Castle from Carlton House in the second quarter of the XIXth century. The pommel is of gilt bronze, fitting arch-like on the top of the grip. The quillons of polished iron are flat and oblong in section, and droop in a very pronounced manner over the blade, the tang of which widens and forms the foundation for the plaques of walrus ivory that are applied on either side of the grip.