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Left-Handed Dagger or “Main Gauche”
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For parrying, rapiers were often made with accompanying daggers as a matched set, although the rapier shown here (1916.1810) does not originally belong to this dagger. Daggers such as this one have been misleadingly called "left-handed daggers" even though they could be held in either hand. The guard is richly decorated with chiseled and pierced arabesques, an ornamental design consisting of intertwined flowing lines.
| Artist / Maker | Spain or Italy, Naples |
|---|---|
| Date | c. 1650 |
| Culture / Origin | Spain or Italy, Naples |
| Medium | steel, pierced and chiseled |
| Dimensions | Overall: 57.2 cm (22 1/2 in.); Blade: 44.4 cm (17 1/2 in.); Quillions: 25.4 cm (10 in.) |
| Department | Medieval Art |
| Type | Arms and Armor |
About the Artist
Provenance & Source
Image & data: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 / Public Domain.
Condition
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