You know how much I love these rapiers Nando!!
The hilt on this looks very much 18th century, but that blade seems earlier and of course a Solingen product.
The shellguard added to the edge of the cup is an especially nice feature very much favored on Spanish and Portuguese swords in these times. I have always considered them an allusion to St.James of Compastela and the symbolism of the shell .
The linear inscription on the blade seems broken up in the manner of these seen on 17th and 18th century blades. While earlier ones often specified ME FECIT SOLINGEN etc. as well as the spurious EN TOLEDO type inscriptions among many other slogans and inscriptions, it seems more 'mystical' affectations became more popular toward the 18th century. These 'mystical' and acrostic inscriptions were of course not new but just seem more prevalent then, perhaps in a sort of revival sense.
This blade inscription seems like possibly acrostic letter combinations which were probably spaced or separated with the usual punctions of four dots in quadraform between. Some of the figures seem to be paired arcs or the curious O-(- marks used as the letter E in many inscriptions in Toledo. Others seem possibly insertions of occult or cabalistic characters and of course the familiar 'anchors' at the terminus of the inscription.
With the number of letters or characters so worn away it is difficult to discern what this might represent, and with these arcane acrostics it is pretty unlikely we can decipher. As always though, we never know what new information might come up, especially if we find a similar inscription or blade with more provenance or discernible lettering.
What we can surmise is that it is probably a Solingen made blade representing Toledo style and of likely 17th century with mounts in what appear to be late 18th century style. The fluted ivory grips and the classical pommel form seem of that period.
Very nice!!!
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