By the end of the thirteenth century, the armor-producing cities of northern Italy had gained an international reputation and were exporting arms and armor throughout Europe. Milan was preeminent through the sixteenth century, followed by Brescia. The greatest Milanese armorers were members of the Missaglia family, a dynasty of merchant-armorers active from the late fourteenth to the early sixteenth century. During the fifteenth century, the Italians perfected complete armor of plate. Probably developed in Milan around 1400, it covered the wearer from head to foot. The advanced technical and stylistic features of Milanese armor influenced local craftsmen wherever it was exported. Thus, in the fifteenth century, armors worn across western Europe from Spain to Flanders displayed Italian characteristics. Thriving local centers of armor-making were found at Burgos and Calatayud in Spain; Paris, Tours, and Lyons in France; and Arbois in Burgundy.
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Title:Cinquedea
Date:ca. 1500
Culture:Italian
Medium:Steel, copper alloy, horn
Dimensions:L. 11 15/16 in. (30.3 cm); L. of blade 7 5/8 in. (19.35 cm); W. 3 3/16 in. (8.08 cm); W. of blade 2 3/16 in. (5.54 cm); D. of blade 5/16 in. (0.79 cm); Wt. 8 oz. (200 g)
Classification:Daggers
Credit Line:Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913
Object Number:14.25.1264
William H. Riggs, Paris (until 1913; his gift to MMA).
Allentown. Allentown Art Museum. "Arms and Armor: A Loan Exhibition from the Collection of Stephen V. Grancsay: with Important Contributions by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the John Woodman Higgins Armory, Worcester, Massachusetts," March 15–June 14, 1964, no. 38.
Seattle, Wash. Seattle Art Museum. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," March 11, 1982–June 6, 1982, no. 45.
Denver, Colo. Denver Art Museum. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," July 18–October 10, 1982, no. 45.
San Antonio, Tex. Witte Museum of the San Antonio Museum Association. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 13, 1982–February 5, 1983, no. 45.
Minneapolis, Minn. Minneapolis Institute of Arts. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 24–July 31, 1983, no. 45.
San Francisco. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 5, 1983–January 28, 1984, no. 45.
Detroit, Mich. Detroit Institute of Arts. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 4–June 17, 1984, no. 45.
Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène-Emmanuel. Dictionnaire Raisonné du Mobilier Français de L'epoque Carlovingienne a la Renaissance. Vol. 6. Paris: Ve A. Morel & Cie, 1875. p. 202–205, fig. 1.
Dean, Bashford. Catalogue of European Court Swords and Hunting Swords: Including the Ellis, De Dino, Riggs, and Reubell Collections. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929. p. 83, no. 75, pl. XXVI.
Allentown Art Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and John Woodman Higgins Armory. Arms and Armor: A Loan Exhibition from the Collection of Stephen V. Grancsay: with Important Contributions by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the John Woodman Higgins Armory, Worcester, Massachusetts: March 15–June 14, 1964. Allentown, Pa.: Allentown Art Museum, March 15, 1964–June 14, 1964. p. 32, no. 38.
Boccia, Lionello G., and Eduardo T. Coelho. Armi Bianche Italiane. Milan: Bramante Editrice, 1975. p. 348, fig. 185.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Helmut Nickel, Stuart W. Pyhrr, Leonid Tarassuk, and American Federation of Arts. The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: An Exhibition. New York: The Federation, 1982. pp. 92–93, no. 45. ill.
MacGregor, Arthur. Tradescant's Rarities: Essays on the Foundation of the Ashmolean Museum, 1683, with a Catalogue of the Surviving Early Collections. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Clarendon Press, 1983. pp. 206, 210–214 (MMA pieces cited on page 206), no. 95.
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