小剑 - 美国大都会艺术博物馆展品查阅

品名（中）	小剑
品名（英）	Smallsword
入馆年号	2011年，2011.63
策展部门	武器和盔甲（Arms and Armor）
创作者
创作年份	公元 1625 - 公元 1685
创作地区	原产国: 法国, 可能是巴黎（Country of Origin: France, probably Paris）
分类	剑（Swords）
尺寸	长 41 英寸 (104.1 厘米); 长 of blade 34 1/2 英寸 (87.5 厘米)
介绍（中）	虽然至少从中世纪开始，贵族每天都要佩剑在欧洲就很常见，但直到16世纪，战争时期穿盔甲的剑与平民服装或和平时期穿的剑才有明显的区别。在文艺复兴时期，贵族们经常佩戴被称为剑杆的长而致命的、经常装饰华丽的剑，既用于自卫，也作为必要的服装配饰。在17世纪初，剑杆变得更小、更轻、更精致，发展成为所谓的小剑，绅士们一直佩戴这种剑，直到18世纪末这把早期的小剑是路易十四早期法国最好的剑的一个罕见而美丽的形式、设计和装饰的例子。其复杂的镶嵌金色装饰源自当代印刷品。在现存的为数不多的可与之相比的小剑中，有三把在当前或以前的皇家王朝收藏中：温莎城堡、巴黎的Armée博物馆和斯德哥尔摩的皇家军械库，这进一步表明了它们的质量和重要性。尽管装饰精美，但这种类型的剑仍然完全可以作为武器使用。
介绍（英）	While it was typical in Europe from at least the Middle Ages for a nobleman to wear a sword on a daily basis, not until the sixteenth century was there a pronounced difference between the swords worn with armor during times of war and those worn with civilian dress or in peacetime. During the Renaissance noblemen regularly wore long, lethal, and frequently ornate swords known as rapiers, both for self-defense and as a necessary costume accessory. In the early seventeenth century rapiers became smaller, lighter, and more refined, developing into what are known as smallswords, which continued to be worn by gentlemen until the late eighteenth century. This early smallsword is a rare and beautiful example of the form, design, and ornamentation that distinguishes the best French swords of the early Louis XIV period. Its intricately damascened gold decoration is derived from contemporary print sources. Of the few comparable smallswords that exist, three are in current or former royal dynastic collections: Windsor Castle, the Musée de l'Armée in Paris, and the Royal Armory in Stockholm, a further indication of their quality and importance. Although highly decorated, swords of this type were still fully functional as weapons.