Bill

Culture Italian

Date1500s

MediumSteel and wood with fabric

Dimensions245 × 16 cm (96 7/16 × 6 5/16 in.), 5 lb, 2 oz (weight)

ClassificationsArms and Armor

Markings"Scorpion" mark at base of the fluke on both sides, see digital file.

Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection

Terms

Object number2014.200

DescriptionBlade of flattened hexagonal cross-section, with thrusting tip, forward hook, lightly convex chopping blade, and rear fluke. There is a pair of spike-lugs at the base of the blade. There is stamped decoration of crescents and trefoils running along the lower rear of the blade, on both sides.

Staff of chamfered rectangular cross-section.
Label TextDerived from the peasant's billhook, used for pruning brush, the bill was most popular in western Europe. It seems to have appeared no later than the 1200s, and survived well into the 1600s. Like the halberd, it could be used in a variety of ways, and was a popular weapon for bodyguards. Bills were supplied to English colonists in Virginia and New England as well.ProvenanceCollection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2104.

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