On the whole, the hilt appears to be a provincial version of the typical Hispano-Italian cup hilt that was at the height of popularity in the second half of the 17th cent. The cup itself can have either a circular or scalloped (as in the case of this specimen) rim. Common for this style is the bun-shaped pommel and the flaring, flattened terminus of the knucklebow which never actually joins the pommel. Numerous up-market examples of the genre can be seen in Boccia and Coelho, ARMI BIANCHE ITALIANE (1975). Ewart Oakeshott, EUROPEAN WEAPONS AND ARMOUR FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (1980 ed.) states that the shallower, hemispherical cups are Spanish and the deeper ones Italian, but this is not supported in other publications or in the identification of a considerable number of both types in the Wallace Collection. The thumb ring on the example in this post seems to be an anomaly, based on the specimens I've handled and have recently seen up close in a recent visit to the Wallace. The one thing that the posted specimen seems to lack is the "guarda-polvo" , a supplemental reinforcing plate at the bottom of the cup which is the norm on all cup hilts, even those with solid as opposed to openwork cups. One thing that comes to mind in looking at this piece is the unusually wide blade for the genre. It is not a true rapier blade profile, and I've not seen it on any published example or in my experience. This, and the presence of the thumb ring, leads me to suppose that this is a remounted piece, a composite or modification. Fernando may well be onto something here...
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