Dagger

Unknown

late 15th century · Steel, bronze, bone · Arms and Armor

During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, most men and women wore a small knife in a sheath as part of their daily dress and used it as an all-purpose eating utensil and tool. The size this knife, more properly called a dagger, the shape of its hilt, and the presence of a perpendicular ring guard at the base of the hilt, indicate that it was intended primarily as a weapon, both for offense and defense, rather than a utensil. Daggers of this type were used across western Europe from the late fifteenth century to the mid-sixteenth century.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 15th century

Medium

Steel, bronze, bone

Culture

French

Department

Arms and Armor

Credit line

Gift of Jean Jacques Reubell, in memory of his mother, Julia C. Coster, and of his wife, Adeline E. Post, both of New York City, 1926