Italy, Venice / c. 1520
Corsèque
Corsèque
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Corsèque as arms and armor (Italy, Venice · c. 1520).
WHY IT’S INTERESTING
The corsèque is said to have originated in Corsica, from where it takes its name.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this arms and armor as steel; round wood haft; tassel.
The museum's collection notes: The corsèque is a pole arm with a symmetrical three-pronged head consisting of a central double-edged blade and two sharp, upturned wings. The side blades served several functions: as guard to protect the soldier's hand when a thrust was delivered with the central blade; as a hook for unseating a mounted opponent; and to trip the opponent's horse. The corsèque was used mostly in Italy and France from the 1400s to the early 1600s. The version here is sometimes called a chauve-souris after the French word for "bat," since the side blades are thought to resemble a bat's wings.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtCorsèqueOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.