Posts: 289 Location: UK
Fri 19 Feb, 2010 11:49 am
I've been looking too, with little success.
I know a sword (not necessarily a rapier) with a turned-down hilt and spherical pommel was found in an encrustation aboard the Mary Rose (1545); as was an early basket hilt. So such swords were found in England in the mid-sixteenth century.
There are also swords that match this type to be seen (if you look really, really closely) in the engravings from Cowdrey house.
It's possible that the well-known image of George Silver (demonstrating the correct length for a sword) is holding such a rapier (this time with a fore guard)
However, to date I've yet to find a real example of such a sword.
I was just lamenting this the other day: swords of the first quarter 16th century seem to be largely ignored by the community.
EDIT:
Some images from the MR, taken yesterday:
The most precisely-dated basket hilt sword (can be dated to exactly 19th July 1545!):
The 'impression' of a simple rapier (the iron remnants disintegrated as they tried to recover it):
A curved-hilted sword discovered when X-raying an excrustation. You can just about make up the 'ghost' of a sword in the image. (sorry about the poor quality - my wife took the photo and was actually focussing on the scabbard in the case not the images in the background!)