Jean Parisot de Valette’s dagger has returned to Malta – if only temporarily – after more than 200 years.
Brought over following an agreement between Heritage Malta and the Paris’ Louvre Museum, the poniard will be on exhibition at the Museum of Archaeology in Valletta between Saturday and July 9.
The sword could not be brought over because of its fragility, Heritage Malta CEO Kenneth Gambin said this morning. He noted that a 19th century intervention, which replaced its blade with a new one, had rendered the sword’s gems unstable. Moving it could damage it further.
Instead, Heritage Malta created a rotating 3D projection of the sword that is to scale.
The poniard, together with a sword and accompanying girdle had been gifted to the Grand Master in 1566 by King Philip II of Spain. It was a personal gift presented to de Valette in recognition of his military valour and leadership during the 1565 siege.
Both sword and dagger eventually ended up in Napoleon Bonaparte’s hands, who sent the former to Paris, but kept the poniard for himself.
He adorned it with a decorated sheath and it is believed that he bequeathed it to his son, also called Napoleon, before it was passed on to King Louis Philippe. In 1852 the dagger was exhibited at the Louvre, where it joined the sword.