with broad tapering blade of flattened diamond section stamped 'Me Fecit' and 'Valencia' on the respective faces within a slender full-length fuller, forte etched on each face with the arms and combined badges of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain and spurious Ottoman calligraphy, ricasso struck with a mark on each face, silvered iron hilt with guard of slender fluted bars, comprising lower ring-guard joined to the knuckle-guard by an S-shaped bar, each interrupted by a knop-shaped moulding, a pair of straight quillons with recurved inward and outward-canted terminals with small spherical finials, trifurcated inner-guard of plain bars joined at the knuckle-guard, fluted mushroom-shaped pommel, and original grip bound with plaited silver wire between ‘Turk’s Heads’, and remaining in fine condition throughout, 101.5 cm blade

Provenance
Earl of Londesborough, Christie's, 4 July 1888, Lot 31
Edwin J. Brett, Christie's, 18-21, 25, 26 March 1895, Lot 187
Baron Charles Alexander de Cosson
R.T. Gwynn
Anon. sale, Christie's, Geneva, 26 April 1977, Lot 32
Anon. sale (Hirschel Boyd?), Christie’s London, 12th December 1997, lot 261, £27,600

Literature
Edwin J. Brett, A Pictorial and Descriptive Record of the Origin and Development of Arms and Armour, 1894, plate LXV, 5
Baron Charles Alexander de Cosson, ‘Some Ancient Sword Blades bearing spurious inscriptions’ in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, 25, XVIII, London (1899-1900), pp. 205-9
Sir Guy Franics Laking, A Record of European Armour and Arms Through Seven Centuries, 1920, p. 302, fig. 1366
J.F. Hayward, 'A Notable Private Collection. XVth and XVIth Century Armour and Swords in the Collection of R. T. Gwynn, Esquire' in The Connoisseur Year Book, 1954, p. 44, fig. XIX (c)
Claude Blair, European and American Arms, 1962, plate 116
Ewart Oakeshott, ‘Three Swords from the Dresden Armoury’ in The Sixteenth Park Lane Arms Fair, London 1999, pp. 29-30.

A sword with a closely related hilt, also etched with the Spanish Royal arms on the blade, is preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. no. M.48-1947) and a left-hand dagger with a hilt of this type is preserved in the same museum (M.76-1957) . Two further rapiers with very similar hilts are preserved in the Tøjhusmuseet, Copenhagen (inv. nos. C236.1942 and C.235.1945).