Rapier of Michiel de Ruyter, anonymous, c. 1675
engraving, l 104.8cm More details
In 1675 Michiel de Ruyter was presented with this rapier with a blood-coral hilt by the Marqués de los Vélez, Spanish Viceroy of Naples. De Ruyter and his fleet had foiled an imminent attack by the French fleet in the Bay of Naples. The equestrian figure on the hilt is a reference to the name De Ruyter (The Cavalryman or Rider).
