A CURIOUS ITALIAN STILETTO C.1670

Figural all steel stilettos were popular in Italy in the second half of the 17th century. The most highly regarded were those made in Brescia, also famous for its firearms. Most were innocuous themes and a few whimsical. This example bears a chiseled iron hilt modeled as a man with the body of a boy in an awkward stance and speculative dual gesture. The facial features including the pointed chin are specific enough to suggest that it was intended as an insult to an individual readily identifiable at the time but now obscured in history. The guard and blade are typical for the period and also suggest a Brescian origin.