Basilard
Unknown Artist
ca. 1540
Medium
Steel, wood, gold
Dimensions
L. 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm); W. 3 1/4 (8.3 cm); Wt. 5.2 oz. (147.4 g)
Classification
Daggers
Culture
Italian
Department
Arms and Armor
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1904
Accession Number
04.3.141
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite basilard dagger, crafted in Italy around 1540, exemplifies the Renaissance fusion of lethal utility and artistic splendor. Measuring 12½ inches in length and weighing just 5.2 ounces, it is forged from steel with wooden grips inlaid or accented in gold, making it both a formidable weapon and a collector's treasure. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Arms and Armor Department (acquired via the Rogers Fund in 1904), basilards like this were short swords or daggers favored by civilians and nobility for personal defense during an era of political intrigue and warfare in Rena...