Bat-Wing Corsesca
Culture
Italian
Date1500–1550
Mediumsteel, brass, wood with textiles
Dimensions246.2 × 62.2 cm (96 15/16 × 24 1/2 in.), 4 lb, 14 oz (weight)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
MarkingsBoth faces of the thrusting blade have stylized 'T'-like, or Tau mark; see digital file.
WAM 1920.34 inscribed on blade.
Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Object number2014.169
DescriptionPrimary difference in that basal blades have stout triangular section medial ribs on both faces. Staff of circular section; upper third covered with velvet casing & pair of tassels, secured by brass capped tacks overall. Similar caps found on the lower half. Broken brass baluster just under blades; there may also have been one at the base of the socket. No langets.
Label TextThe corsesca was a three-pronged variety of infantry spear that was used from the 1400s to the early 1600s. Surviving examples are usually Italian, but the type was known elsewhere in Europe. Some "three-grayned [bladed] staves" are among the items recorded in the 1547 inventory of Henry VIII of England, and were probably used by members of the royal bodyguard. The elaborate styling of the "bat-wing" corsesca might be for exactly this sort of use.ProvenanceGift to Higgins Armory Museum from Worcester Art Museum (Worcester, MA) on June 19, 1947. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.
On View
Not on view
1625–1650
1625–1650
