Dagger: Detail from the Setúbal Altarpiece, 1520-1530 AD

The dagger shown here in great detail is a very fancy type known to have been made and used in 16th-century Italy. It is known to armour specialists today as an "ear dagger" because the terminals are shaped like mouse-ears. The dagger would have been made of gilt steel, with brass inlaid decoration (of which just the beginning can be seen) on the blade, which lower down was double-edged and of diamond section. This was an expensive personal item, worn as much for show as for use, by aristocratic youths and young men.

Detail from the panel the Martyr Saints of Morocco.