Details

LOT 0269

Medieval Schiavonesca Type Iron Sword with Inlay

14TH-15TH CENTURY A.D.

46 1/2 in. (1.37 kg, 1.18 m).

Comprising a broad, double-edged blade with rounded tip, shallow central fuller to the upper third of both sides; flat guard with stepped central panel, D-section arms formed in a horizontal S-curve, 'cat's head' truncated type pommel with an integral central boss to both faces; the tang with a sword-shaped stamp, the blade with an inlaid three-armed workshop mark and another stamp, including a V surmounted by a cross.

Provenance

From an English collection, acquired 1990s.
The Kusmirek Collection, UK.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11771-203963.

Literature

See Aleksić, M., Mediaeval Swords from Southeastern Europe, material from 12th to 15th century AD, Belgrad, 2007, especially cat. nos.273, pl.17,2; similar swords at the armoury of the Ducal Palace in Venice, see Franzoi, U., L’Armeria del Palazzo Ducale a Venezia, Treviso, 1990, fig.41f.

Footnotes

The Schiavonesca sword was used by Dalmatian mercenaries serving in the Venetian state armies, and were produced by the workshops of the Serenissima to which the marks probably belong. Many of these swords were produced in Dubrovnik, a Croatian city under the Venetian rule. Dr Aleksić mentions the swordsmith Radonja Vukotić, who made an agreement with blacksmith Andrija Miletin at the beginning of September 1436, to produce swords together in the following year.