Left-hand dagger

While the pommel of this dagger appears to be an original late 16th-century Italian example, the rest of this dagger was likely made in the 19th century. It was probably purchased by Alice de Rothschild as part of her refurnishing of the Bachelors' Wing at Waddesdon.

Left-hand daggers were an integral weapon to the art of rapier fencing. A duelling culture of civilian sword-fighting became widespread in the 16th century. This necessitated a new type of dagger. Side-rings, such as here, protected the outside of the left hand when parrying the thrust of an opponent's rapier. They are often beautifully decorated. Classical nudes grace this dagger's pommel. The piercings on the blade reduced the weight and extended the hilt decoration down the weapon.

The chiselled and pierced heads on the side-ring are clearly made to match the pommel, but they are more typical of early 19th-century romanticised visions of the 16th century. They also do not share the quality of the nude figures on the pommel, carried out in the same technique.

When Claude Blair (1922-2010) catalogued the Waddesdon collection of arms and armour in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he discovered several 'fake' objects, mostly edged weapons such as this dagger. At this time, scholars became aware of the differences between original and fraudulent objects, often sold and bought in good faith by the dealers and collectors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Although specialist scholars did advise collectors at the time, they were sometimes in on the deception. One of Alice's advisors, Sir Guy Laking (1875-1919), probably knew many pieces purchased by Alice were not genuine but was motivated by financial gain not to reveal them (see Claude Blair, 'Crediton: The Story of Two Helmets', in "Studies in European Arms and Armor: The C. von Keinbusch Collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art" (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1992), pp. 169-171).

A scarcity of original arms during this period led some dealers to remount original fragments to make whole weapons, or create new pieces in the style of the old. Careful examination often reveals a weakness in execution by 19th-century artists. However, some of the people involved, such as the Parisian master Louis Marcy (1860-1945) and the Spanish steel chiseller Plácido Zuloaga (1834-1910), were highly skilled at replicating ancient techniques. Paris was a major centre of fraudulent arms production (see John F. Hayward, 'Forgeries and fakes of arms and armor', in "ICOMAM 50. Papers on arms and military history 1957 – 2007", ed. Robert Douglas Smith (Leeds: Basilicoe Press, 2007) pp. 136-144 (pp. 138-9)).

This dagger may have been purchased by Ferdinand de Rothschild (d. 1898), but its quality suggests it was probably acquired later by his sister Alice. From surviving receipts, it appears that Alice turned her attention to buying arms and armour between 1908 to 1914. She probably acquired this dagger during these years. It may be the one described in a receipt of 28 June 1909 as a pierced iron left-hand dagger, which cost Alice £120 (receipt AR101). It is described in her 1922 inventory as a German dagger of the 17th century. It would have complemented the other German arms that Alice bought to furnish the Smoking Room and Bachelors' Wing Corridor.

Phillippa Plock, 2014