Hi Guys,

Just a reminder that The Noble Art of the Sword: Fashion and Fencing in Renaissance Europe exibition at the Wallace collection is now on until Sunday 16th September, 2012 (and I'm not doing this to tease anyone living accross the atlantic :) )

http://www.wallacecollection.org/collections/exhibition/93

I'll have a look most likely next week so I'll post pictures here for those who can't make it.

Cheers,

J

Thanks for mentioning the exhibition J!

For those who can't make it there is also the exhibition catalogue, and an iBook, 'Queen of Weapons'. Details on the Wallace Collection website.

I'm running tours of the exhibition over the course of the summer, there's a swords and swordsmanship symposium on 16 June, and a series of Renaissance fencing demonstrations.

Do come along if you can!

TC

This thread popping up reminds me to mention that Toby can currently be seen on the BBC's iPlayer as a man who (according to the Radio Times) 'loves armour perhaps too much' ogling lots of Greenwich Armour in the BBC/V&A co-production Metalworks!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01hdhpy...ghts_Tale/ (you will probably need a proxy to view from outside the UK!)

Neil.

The exhibits and events planned for this sound great and I have heard are quite good. Not sure if I will be able to get over to see them but if you do make sure to check out the Making the Renaissance Sword in the conservation gallery.

A&A worked with the Wallace to create a progression of examples on the construction of a rapier! Working from raw stock and detailing several steps along the way to the finished product with some of the tools needed to do the job. Hope folks enjoy it and find it interesting.

Here is a taste
[ Linked Image ]

Have a great weekend folks
Craig

Thanks for posting this Craig, I love step by step illustration (and I will make complex hilts one of these days) it's extremely informative!

J

I just got back from London a few days ago and on this latest trip found myself staying at a hotel that, to my surprise, was only one block from Manchester Square. So while I had no intention of going I of course had to hit the Wallace. Imagine my delight when I learned that The Noble Art of the Sword was going on. It's a rather small exhibit but nicely done, composed primarily of items from the Wallace's permanent collection with some other pieces added in to help round out the story. And I also picked up the exhibit catalog... of course. Here are some really bad cell phone pics that I snapped.

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I visited this exhibition a couple weeks ago and have a whole bundle of photos to share!
It's well worth checking out if you're in the area. :D

Craig's rapier reproduction display was nearby and it was wonderful!


It showed the progression from raw blade and bars all the way up to the final assembly, with the original historical rapier in the case for comparison! And some nice little videos to boot.





Original:

Repros:






Here now was the entrance. And the floor. :D

The exhibit was focused on Renaissance weapons, but they had a short medieval introduction.

First to greet the visitor was this old French friend:


And a sword and buckler fight manuel! There were fight manuals EVERYWHERE in this place.


Rogue's gallery of predecessors:



This pretty pair:





They had this fascinating artifact--a book of sword designs by a cutler and artisan. Gorgeous.



More fight manuals! Marozzo, Agrippa, Palladini..

German texts, several others.

Onward to more swords and blades:



This fancy fan






The poster child is this flashy number, with a blade made by Antonio Piccinino of Milan c.1550-70 and a Spanish or Italian hilt. It belonged to the future Holy Roman Emperor, Maximillian II.




I prefer this silver-hilted number with dagger myself. (Sorry for the blurriness on the wide shots, by the way. The room was fairly dark, so the shutter stayed open longer the further I was from the case.)

Here's an elaborate piece and a hanger that's even moreso.



More texts.

Marozzo and Agrippa again, 1568.



Training implements! Though the sword is not an original.

The text accompanying.


The beautiful Elizabethan rapier:



And to cap it all off, the ever-striking rapier and parade outfit of Christian II, Earl of Saxony. A memorable sight.





As if sword enthusiasts needed ANOTHER reason to visit the Wallace Collection, this exhibition is quite a treat. :D

I went to the last Swordplay Saturday event that was put on shortly after the exhibition opened and had a grand time.

As well as seeing the exhibition there was a lecture and a demonstration by the Sussex Sword Academy, here's a photo from one of the sessions.

[ Linked Image ]

A short video of which can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZmuQfYH2Sw

The next event is on the 7th July. I plan on attending again as the demonstration by The School of the Sword sounds like it should be good.

http://www.wallacecollection.org/collections/event/4272

As you can see from the above photos, the swords on display are gorgeous and the events are an excellent added bonus.