A very fine late 15th or early 16th-century North European hand-and-a-half arming sword, German or

A very fine late 15th or early 16th-century North European hand-and-a-half arming sword, German or Flemish, multi-fullered blade 31 in. with reinforced point, struck with a six-pointed star to one side; hilt with swept cross describing an S-shape within the horizontal plane, the ends of the arms well finished with chamfered edges, the long leather bound grip swollen toward the centre, the inverted conical pommel with five broad flutes to the outer face - three of which are voided to accommodate enamelled ornaments (now lacking), the top with radial reeding extending down between the flutes, 1490-1510, Oakeshott type XX.4.

A private collection
The David Oliver Collection
Lord Alistair McAlpine
The Ewart Oakeshott Collection
Christie's, lot 175, 14/04/1966
The Haldane Collection, Clarke Hall, Wakefield.

Illustrated in Ewart Oakeshott, 'Records of the Medieval Sword', p. 211.

Swords of similar form, particularly with regard to the cross, may be found in the Bayerisches-Nationalmuseum in Munich, the Musee de Moyen Age in Cluny and the Musee de l'Armee in Paris; all of which confirm the dating of this sword, and suggest Nuremberg as a possible point of origin.