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FRETTED AND CHISELLED DRAGON TIZONA. 17th Century. Handcrafted in carbon steel.
The cup hilt sword, or espada de cazoleta, arose in the Renaissance era in Spain and refers to a type of sword with a long, straight blade, held in one hand.
Its name is derived from the Spanish version, which first appeared in writing some time between 1445 and 1450 in Coplas de la Panadera by Juan de Mena.
The Italians have their own name for this type of weapon: “spada a striscia”. In France, it was first referred to as the rapier sword (la rapière). It reached its apogee between approximately 1525 and 1675, and was gradually replaced by the court sword of French origin typical of the 18th century.
The cup, from which this type of hilt gets its name, along with the quillons and the knuckle guard, afforded excellent protection for the hand, and was, at the same time, quite light-weight.
It was used extensively in Spain and Italy until well into the 18th century. This is the classic hilt style that comes to mind in relation to rapiers.
Rapiers, with their cup-shaped guard, enabled soldiers to make cutting and thrusting attacks while keeping the attacking hand protected. This type of guard was an evolved version of the swept hilt or shell hilt sword, and was wielded by virtually all the soldiers in the Tercio as a means of personal defence.
Unlike medieval swords, modern ones required less physical strength but more agility and skill in the soldier’s arm. They were at once lighter and more flexible, but also stronger. This model is also very beautifully decorated.
CHARACTERISTICS
BLADE. 93 cm long blade, 2 cm wide at the ricasso and 0.5 cm at the point. It is very slender, light-weight and flexible. It was completely handcrafted by the artisan José Ballesteros, popularly known as “Cebollita”.
The blade is thin and delicately engraved, with a very narrow fuller reaching to the forte. Below the fuller, the blade is divided into four bevels, two on each side, down to the point.
CUP OR CAZOLETA. The cup is exquisitely handcrafted. It is divided into eight sections with alternating chiselled and fretted drawings of dragons and floral designs, and has a cut, grooved, point-breaker in the outer circle of the cup.
CROSS GUARD. The cross guard in 31.5 cm long and a knuckle guard branches up to the pommel. The quillon block is cut and grooved to match the point-breaker. Two semi-circular side arms reach down from the cross and are riveted inside the cup.
GRIP. The round wood grip has fine silver wire wrapping, four inlaid ribs and two cut and grooved ferrules at the ends.
POMMEL. The round wheel-shaped pommel has a cut circumference and is engraved at the top and finished with a ball. It is screwed onto the blade tang to securely fasten it to the sword.
SCABBARD. The scabbard is made of iron and is open in the middle on both sides and lined with black leather inside.
It has three parts: at the top is the “brocal”, or locket, which is finely engraved and has a solid ball that can be inserted in a leather belt, the “cantonera" fitting in the centre is also finely engraved, and at the bottom is the “batiente", or chape, designed to protect the sword point. These three parts are connected at the sides by engraved iron ribs.
Unique piece.
CRAFTSMANSHIP OF TOLEDO. SPAIN.
