Nine rapiers fan out in a single vitrine, each hilt resembling a richly engraved, swirling abstract sculpture.

ECONOMIST: The rapier in Renaissance Europe: Jewels to die for | The

Imagine, for a moment, today's tiresome conflicts settled on the field of honor:Martha Stewart and U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White facing off with rapiers at dawn.

FORBES: Forget those depositions. Let's duel.

Pistols replaced rapiers as the duelling weapons of choice.

ECONOMIST: The rapier in Renaissance Europe: Jewels to die for | The