Medieval Iron Knife Blades Baselard Dagger Scale Tang Bolster Italy Antique Lot

A substantial and varied collection of seven medieval iron knife blades presented together in a fitted display box, offering an excellent study and display grouping for the serious collector of medieval arms and edged weapons.

The lot includes several notably well-preserved examples. Two scale-tang knives are among the highlights — both retain their original iron handle plates with visible rivet holes showing clearly how the organic handle scales of wood or bone were once secured. This construction detail is a hallmark of medieval knife-making and is well documented across European archaeological finds of the 13th through 15th centuries. A smaller but complete knife with a short blade and visible tang rounds out the finer pieces. Additional items include two substantial long blade fragments, a shorter blade with a distinctive bolster shoulder, and an angular iron piece of uncertain function that adds interest to the group as a whole.

All pieces are presented in found, uncleaned condition retaining their original excavated surfaces and natural patina. The fitted display box is included and travels with the lot.

Provenance:

These items come from two lifetime collections assembled by United States Army soldiers stationed in Italy following World War II. Post-war Italy was economically devastated, and local families — drawing on their own personal collections — were selling historical items to make ends meet. These soldiers bought extensively during their time there and shipped the items back to the United States. They returned to Italy several years later to buy more, having developed a deep passion for collecting historical artifacts.

The collections passed from the soldiers to their sons, and then on to their grandsons. The items were subsequently purchased directly from one of those grandsons.

These pieces left Italy in the late 1940s to early 1950s, well before the 1970 UNESCO Convention on cultural property —

Condition: Uncleaned, as-found. Varying states of preservation as described. Display box included.

selling as pictured.

more than welcome to pick up at shop in butler pa & save shipping.

022326 jy