Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 4).djvu/340

 Before quitting the subject of the Spanish sword this account would not be complete unless the fine sword made by Daniele da Serravalle at the castle of Milan in 1560 for Philip II of Spain were described. The ricasso bears the gold damascened inscription: 1560. Serravalle is supposed to have died in 1565, and no doubt came from Serravalle near Venice, a place renowned for swordsmiths. The only other sword known to be by him is at Dresden; it bears his signature. The workmanship of this sword, now in the collection of Mr. S. J. Whawell (Fig. 1374), is of the finest. The precision of the granulations is very wonderful. The guard is of blackened steel, and on the inside face of the blade is a heraldic shield.

There is another rapier in the Musée d'Artillerie (J 380) which was also given to Henri IV of France on the occasion of his marriage (Fig. 1375). The workmanship of this most gorgeous weapon is doubtless French, and probably Parisian; for the sword was a gift from the city of Paris. A town-sword in the strictest sense of the word, it is remarkable for the fact that plaques of mother-of-pearl, a strange and most unsuitable medium of enrichment, not only decorate the hilt, but are actually inlaid in the blade. The surface of the metal is russeted and profusely inlaid with ciphers, arms, and inscriptions. As, however, our own Wallace Collection (No. 669) possesses the dagger belonging to this sword, we will limit ourselves to a description of the latter, for both rapier and dagger are exactly similar in their enrichments. The dagger hilt (Fig. 1376) is made entirely of russeted steel, the whole decorated with gold azzimina damascening, the principal theme of the design being branches of palm, the double H (Henri) many times repeated, the double M (Marie), the collar and order of the Saint-Esprit; there is also the following inscription on the quillons and ring:

The blade has a flattened ridge running the whole length on either face. It is decorated with gold azzimina damascening. There is a large crowned double H on the strong ricasso; while is inscribed on the reverse side. Down the front of the blade are palm leaves, and the following astrological inscription: