Rapier
Clemens Horn (German, 1586–1617)
c. 1620–30
Medium
steel, blued and gilded
Dimensions
l. 111.1 cm · blade: l. 89.2 cm
Classification
Arms and Armor
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
Accession Number
1916.697
Tags
male
About this artwork
This weapon has an especially handsome configuration of hilt, pommel, quillons, and guard. The blade is also very finely wrought and bears the mark (a unicorn head) of the German swordsmith, Clemens Horn, of Solingen, a town near Düsseldorf. The Latin inscription on the blade reads in translation: "Neither without cause, nor fearfully/Between arms and silent law/ Prize truth and the fight for one's country."