A Large Spanish Cup Hilt

[RobertGuy]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

That is a very good point Ulfberth, and these striated shells are a feature I have always associated with hilt features on Spanish examples. These are in my opinion keenly associated with the scallop shell, the symbol most used representing St James of Compostela.....

Jim
I was interested to see this and your comments on another thread about a shell hilted hanger.Here is a similar feature in the hilt of what I believe to be a 1728 Spanish Cavalry Officer's sword.

[fernando]

Probably some of us realize that the vieira shell was a symbol created as such by Apostle Tiago himself, but in fact it adopted later by the Church as a ‘certificate’ for those who undertook the pilgrimage to Compostela.
This shell is depicted by Botticelli in his work Birth of Venus (1484-6). It was used in pagan cults as a symbol of fertility and was connected to Goddess Venus. In early times she was the protector of the sea, navigators and fishermen. She was venerated upon a shell by the Druids that crossed the Compostela route to go practice their ascesticims at the Finisterra, extreme of the Galician shore, known at the period in the European Continent where, according to pagan belief, sage survivors of a flood came ashore in such place, there leaving their spiritual energies. In the belief that the sea is the origin of life and having the Goddess of a love so carnal as spiritual, come out of a shell, this became to represent fertility. In the middle ages pagan cults were abolished, being represented by other forms by Christian cult. Obviously the Church wanted somehow to connect the shell symbol to any act or cult, a Christian image. Pilgrimage of Christian believers to the Apostle Tiago, rendering to the sea all that they had and taking the vieira shell as proof that they managed to conclude the route, the Church ‘stole’ this symbol and declared it as a symbol of the pilgrim and devotee of Santiago de Compostela. Above all, the vieira shell represents origin of life and fertility: the route, the protection and, after concluding the route, should proceed to Finisterra and throw it to the sea, because knowledge belongs to everyone and as a form of thanking for having realized the route in safety. It is a form of disposing of the knowledge acquired during the pilgrimage.
It is only natural that the vieira shell can be seen in other than weapons. We can see the Casa das Conchas (House of Shells) in Salamanca, a magnificent building of the XV-XVI centuries, which was property of Don Rodrigo Maldonado from Talavera, a knight of the Order of Santiago, whose coat of arms contained a shell.
Also in Portugal this symbol was appreciated, eventualy a favorite of King Dom João V (1706-1750) as seen, for one, in firearms trigger guards of the period.

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[ulfberth]

Great historical information and documentation Fernando !
With all the info we have seen so far, would you say this is most probably a Toledo cup hilt rapier or are the chances of it being Italian just as plausible ?

[fernando]

Originally Posted by ulfberth

... With all the info we have seen so far, would you say this is most probably a Toledo cup hilt rapier or are the chances of it being Italian just as plausible ?

I do not have the capacity to judge that, once the elementary leads are missing. In a wide interpretation, the design of the fixation claws might just be a decoration ability and not a deliberate shell symbol.
It appears (to me) that Italians had a more extensive work on such elaborated cup bowls but, on the contrary, the various swords of this type in the Wallace Colection are mostly Spanish, namely from Toledo, sometimes with Solingen blades.
On the other hand, considering that this example is Spanish due to its well spelt blade inscription, you face a contradiction as, Spanish smiths who made such fine swords, had a name and or a mark to engrave on the blade, either in the forte or in the ricasso.
So ...

[ulfberth]

so ... perhaps its Italian, there are several rapiers in the Poldo Pezolli museum that have no makers mark on the ricasso either including the one with the scallop shells decoration, however I would not rule out Spanish either....

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by RobertGuy

Jim
I was interested to see this and your comments on another thread about a shell hilted hanger.Here is a similar feature in the hilt of what I believe to be a 1728 Spanish Cavalry Officer's sword.

Thank you for your note Robert, and good observation on this feature on this Spanish cavalry sword in which this appears to be a guardopolvo but inside the hilt of an arming sword in rapier form . These 'patterns' as in this one regarded as 1728 were actually often loosely applied as usually that was the date of formal notice of the form, often already in use for a period of time.
It would be hard to say whether any symbolic importance might have been intended in this case or if simply an aesthetic mindful of the striations in so many of these hilt features with the shells. While the shell clearly has significant historical importance, in many cases it very well may have been used as a favored design which lent to pleasing character in the motif.

Regarding the 'anchor' often seen on blades, these indeed were typically placed at the terminus of fullers or enclosing inscriptions, but it is equally unclear in many cases whether simply an aesthetic flourish or whether there were deeper symbolisms imbued. The anchor itself was an early Christian symbol and associated in many cases with the cross. It is interesting to examine the ways these 'anchors' are often embellished and the variations in the numbers of cross bars etc. These seem to have certain similarities to various sigils and devices in other esoteric contexts.

All things to consider, but what makes the mysteries these weapons often hold so interesting