Bidspirit auction | Magnificent Swiss 16th C. Style

Magnificent Swiss 16th C. Style Nobleman's ”Holbein” - Magnificent Swiss 16th C. Style Nobleman's ”Holbein” Dagger Circa 18th-19th C. A later Masterpiece attributed to the style of Holbein dagger of the 1500s era, this one with spectacular carved mounts, in excellent condition for its age. Blade is 18th century with high quality etched decorations, showing nice rich patina throughout. One of a Kind ”State of the Art” piece. One of the masterpieces of Hans Holbein the Younger is a 1521 design for a dance of death on the sheath of such a dagger (which was implemented on a number of surviving examples), [1] After 1550, the Swiss dagger became a prestigious ornamental weapon, with hilt and sheath decorated with precious metal and scenes from the Bible, classical antiquity or Swiss history. Daggers of this period are also referred to as ”Holbein” daggers. Schneider (1977) dates the bulk of the extant specimens of this ornamented type to the 1560s to 1570s.[2] The Swiss dagger disappears with the beginning Baroque period, in the early 17th century. Schneider (1977) compiled a full index of all known originals and copies (including a considerable number of 19th-century imitations forgeries), for a total of 156 specimens. Many copies of originals were made in the period of national Romanticism (19th century), using a casting method. Schneider was able to distinguish copies from originals due to a slight shrinking due to the casting process. His conclusion was that only slightly less than half of the extant ”Holbein” daggers are originals.