To all connoisseurs of rapiers,

At first, I’m sorry for my bad English.

For a comparism, I am looking for authentic rapiers. Hilts chiselled in iron. Decorated with figures, which could be indian, asian or south american gods. Who can help?

kind regards
Sabine

I think that you would probably get a lot more response if you could post pictures of what you want a comparison of...

Also, I doubt that there were many rapiers out there- if any at all- that would have had pagan deities as part of their decoration.

The Europeans did love their Greek and Roman myths, so you can probably find those gods on rapiers. However, figuring out if you're looking at a representation of a god or just a figure in classical Greek/Roman clothing can be pretty tough!

--ElJay

Motifs from classical antiquity are not uncommon in Renaissance arms and armour. The first examples that spring to mind are some of the elaborate embossed shields made by the Negroli. But since we're talking rapiers, one need look no further than the Gustav Vasa rapier, which is adorned with heads of Medusa. The reproduction by Arms & Armor features these.

Best,

Christian