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Nation : -
Local Price : 1,175.00 USD

RARE, PROBABLY UNIQUE, EXPERIMENTAL HEAVY CAVALRY SWORD C.1820. Produced for one of the major powers, perhaps Saxony, during the rearming after the Napoleonic Wars. During that period, virtually all of the major world powers analyzed their weapons based on performance during the past war and sought to modernize them based on their experience. Many drew directly on French models and adopted them as standard. This example responds directly to the controversy over the use of heavy cavalry which resulted in renewed popularity of lancers. Cavalry swords, including our own through the Civil War, were used as concussion weapons, able to inflict traumatic wounds cracking bones and flesh without cutting as such. The closing velocity of the cavalry charge approached 60 miles per hour and a sword which cut would be embedded in its victim and lost to its owner. This example attempts to improve on the first impact while preserving the ability to counter strike, by reversing the section of the blade. It has a 35 ½” curved blade with forward (convex) back edge (thick) and the inner curve sharp. The tip is clipped in the Eastern European/Ottoman taste. The faces are slightly concave section and the root is struck with a crisp ordnance mark verifying that it was made in a military arsenal. The hilt is substantial, but quite simple, similar to Starr production and the wood grip scales snap into the grips, probably originally covered in oil cloth or leather. Very rarely, including some Swedish officer's swords, are curved double edged blades encountered. This is the only curved inner edged blade we have ever seen. The ordnance mark is crisp and clear and should allow for identification to the country of its origin.

Nation : French
Local Price : 1,175.00 USD

FRENCH NAVAL OFFICER'S SWORD, C.1800-10.

Nation : French
Local Price : £850.00

Italian 1855 Model Sabre. Designed by the Turin-based sword maker Francesco Gravier in co-operation with the royal arms factory, this sword would become an iconic sword of Italy’s unification period military. Taking influence from earlier military patterns, it would remain in service until 1888.82cm long, 94cm overall and 3cm wide at the shoulders, the double fuller extends the length of the blade and it is engraved with stands of arms and the initials D DThe sword and handle are solid with no movement, and the blade and scabbard are free from marks or pitting.

Nation : British
Local Price : £850.00

British 1796 Pattern Light Cavalry Trooper’s Sword by Runkel, 1796-1800. Curved single-edged blade with single fuller and hatchet point. Brown leather washer, iron stirrup P-shaped hilt with sword knot slit, comma-shaped quillon, semioval langets, smooth iron backstrap with projecting ears secured to the tang through the grip with a single rivet, and integral pommel cap. Ribbed wooden grip covered with pressed black leather. Plain steel scabbard with two bands mounted with hanging rings. Blade 32½ inches in length, the sword 37½ inches overall. The spine of the blade is stamped with the maker’s mark ‘J. J. Runkel Sohlingen’, indicating the firm of John Justus Runkel. The blade is stamped in the fuller at the forte on one side with a crown over ‘1’, an inspection stamp indicating government property. The inside of the hilt is stamped near the ferrule with ‘D 80’. This was probably a weapon number, e.g. sword 80 assigned to D Troop. John Justus Runkel was a prolific importer (and occasionally, smuggler) of sword blades and completed swords from Solingen, Germany, into Britain. His business, operating from 1778 to 1808, sold primarily to the sword makers and retailers of London, undercutting British-based producers. The spelling ‘Sohlingen’ was used on Runkel’s blades until around the year 1800, when it was changed to ‘Solingen’, so this sword would have been made between the introduction of the Pattern in 1796 and 1800. The 1796 Patterns of cavalry sword were designed by John Gaspard le Marchant, and were a significant step forward in standardization over the more variable 1788 Patterns. Le Marchant gained first-hand experience of cavalry fighting in the Flanders campaigns of 1793-95, and decided that other forces, particularly their Austrian allies, had superior equipment and training to the British: “I have been busily engaged in making drawings of all the articles in the military equipages of our Allies which differ from our own… I have also paid particular observation to the mode of training the Austrian cavalry to the use of the sabre, in which their superiority over us is incredible.” Swords in particular needed to change, the existing types being in his view heavy and poorly balanced. For the heavy cavalry he recommended a near-copy of the Austrian Model 1775, while for the light cavalry, inspired by “the expertly used scimitar blades of the Turks, Mamelukes, Moors and Hungarians” Le Marchant argued for a lighter, shorter curved sword that could both cut and thrust. The design that emerged was in fact oriented to cutting: very broad bladed, more strongly curved and with a simpler profile than its predecessor the 1788. In a melee the Light pattern needed to be wielded skillfully to avoid wasting strikes on non-fatal areas, but could inflict grievous injuries, as an officer of the French Chasseurs recounted: “Out of every twenty blows aimed by them, nineteen missed. If, however, the edge of the blade found its mark only once, it was a terrible blow, and it was not unusual to see an arm cut clean from the body.” Le Marchant died in battle leading cavalry at Salamanca in 1812, but his swords carried on his legacy, in use with the regular Army until 1821 and with yeomanry units for decades longer. The 1796 Patterns were still in active use with yeomanry as of 1848, the 1821 Patterns being only very rarely introduced to them. The Prussian M1811 ‘Blucher’ sabre was a very close replica of the Light trooper’s pattern, and in India in particular the blade was a natural fit with an existing tradition of slashing sword technique. Spare blades can be found mounted into tulwar hilts, and swords produced for Indian cavalry units as late as the 1910s used a blade modelled on that of the 1796. The sword is solid in the hand with no movement or rattle to its parts. Its blade is bright, previously repolished with polishing marks overall and a few spots of dark patination along the spine. Its edge is very sharp, with visible sharpening marks on all of it. Multiple nicks of varying size to the edge, and multiple dents to the corners of the blade’s spine. The sword’s grip has a few worm holes – I can see two on one side, three on the other and one on the belly. Some appear to have been filled in at a later date. The leather covering of the grip is missing at its base next to the pommel, as well as in a strip next to the ferrule, the loss in each area exposing ribbed wood which has been painted black. The paint is a good colour match but matt, whereas the leather is glossy. The leather is otherwise quite sound with some handling wear to raised edges but good adhesion to the wood. The hilt, ferrule and backstrap have moderate patination and peppered light cleaned pitting. The pommel area has some scratches and spots of gouging creating small burrs. The scratches show up bright so may not be period damage. The scabbard has significant polishing marks with indented parallel lines visible across much of it – perhaps a buffing wheel or belt was used by a previous owner, who as noted above seems to have made efforts to refurbish the sword. Some small dents to the scabbard body, particularly along its spine, and two more noticeable dents on one side, one near the midsection and one just above the chape. None of these interfere with sheathing and drawing, which is smooth. One of the screws for the throat piece remains, the other has been lost. The steel of the scabbard has areas of light staining and speckled patination.

Nation : French
Local Price : £850.00

French Préval Sword. One of the rare Préval sabres inspired by Colonel Claude Antoine Préval, these swords were created to be a viable alternative to the standard cavalry sword at the time. Préval trailed this style of blade in the 1830s as he believed it made sense from a cavalry perspective, being light, strong and very stiff. Creating a sword which could function as both a sword and lance in combat. These were often used by Zouave and Chasseur d’ Afrique regiments from around 1855 onwardThe multi bar steel steel hilt has a long triangular sectioned blade with horn handleThe sword has some historical damage around the hilt, where it appears a previous break has been pinned and brazed.

Nation : British
Local Price : £850

Click and use the code >26287 to search for this item on the dealer website Really Rare Chevasse & Co Confederate Contract Pattern 1856, 1856/8 Two Band Enfield Rifle Sword Bayonet with Yataghan Blade. American Civil War Import From Birmingham England, by Confederate Supply Contractor Horace Chavasse.

Nation : Japanese
Local Price : £850.00

**1600-1800 SHINTO PERIOD BLADE MODELLED ON ANCIENT 14TH CENTURY STYLE** RESTORATION PIECE**Japanese O Wakizashi / Uchi Gatana Single Handed Sword, Scabbard & Expert Assessment. ED 3017 -. This sword has been assessed by UK Japanese sword expert Bill Tagg. A copy of his hand written notes and illustrations accompany the sword. In extracts from his notes he states “O Wakizashi or Uchi Gatana single handed sword. Interesting but difficult to date. Based on a Nambokucho 14th Century shape. Probably a big flamboyant Shinto period 1600-1800 made sword, light enough for Shinto. Would look outstanding with a new polish. Hard to put a particular school or style. Has piece of brass soft soldered to end probably done by smith to improve balance when in use. Saya is Meiji period very dark red lacquer, oblique slash marks decoration with horn kuri kata & big patinated copper top and bottom plain fittings. Good condition overall. Faded copper habaki Meiji period. Tsuba Katana size oval patinated copper with Nanako dots and incised plant / leaf decoration late Meiji period. No school stands out, un-signed. Small assembly numbers on seppa. Tsuka plain wood, no Ray skin or menuki, simple re-bind by previous owner, needs fish skin and professional re-bind. Fuchi Kashira soft metal patinated copper pair with Kingfisher & boat riverbank scene very good quality & good condition Meiji period. A restoration piece”. In his illustrations Bill measures the cutting edge as just over 51 cms, total length 68.5 cms and describes other blade and tang measurements & characteristics which can be seen in image 2. As a restoration piece. The price includes UK delivery. ED 3017

Nation : British
Local Price : £850.00

British Circa 1801 Georgian Infantry Grenadier Officer's Sabre. Curved single-edged unfullered blade with hatchet point. Brown leather washer, brass P-shaped hilt with faceted knucklebow, comma-shaped quillon, semioval langets. Brass ferrule, faceted backstrap & integral pommel. Ivory grip, partly chequered. Scabbard with wood core covered with black leather, brass fittings at the throat, middle and chape, middle & throat pieces with brass hanging rings. Blade 27¾ inches in length past the washer, the sabre 32¾ inches overall pommel to tip. The blade appears to have been made as a blue & gilt piece along 2/3 of its length – the blueing has been fully lost or patinated while some gilding remains in the etching. The substantial etched decoration remains, consisting of motifs of palm fronds, victor’s laurels, a stand of arms, the crown and ‘GR’ cypher of King George III, an allegorical classical figure of winged Victory holding a laurel wreath and palm frond, another figure of Britannia (the personification of the United Kingdom) with her spear* and shield emblazoned with the Union flag, and the royal coat of arms including the horse of Hanover. Its tiny details are impacted by pitting but the top right quarter appears to show a lion rather than a fleur-de-lys, this would indicate the coat of arms used post-1801 Act of Union. *Modern depictions of Britannia usually show her with a trident instead – this was first seen on coinage in 1797, its nautical symbolism celebrating British naval victories and the power of the Royal Navy. The spear is a much older motif used in Roman depictions of Britannia. One of the langets is inset with a flaming bomb, suggesting this sword was for a grenadier officer. In this period each regiment of foot contained one company of grenadiers – these specialists had to be tall and physically strong to hurl iron spheres the size of a tennis ball far enough not to injure their own side, and brave to stand firm at the front line and light their fuses only at the right moment. Non-regulation sabres like this one became popular as fighting swords during the Georgian period among infantry officers, who had considerable latitude to purchase and carry the swords they preferred. They replaced the earlier spadroons in part due to their robustness, shorter length and strong cutting ability, but also because they were fashionable and associated with the glamorous hussar units that were trendsetters among the cavalry. Officers of the rifle regiments on colonial service appear to have begun the infantry’s sabre trend in the early 1790s, which then spread to light companies and grenadier companies of regular infantry. By 1799 officers of the grenadier and light companies were officially permitted sabres, and the 1803 Pattern infantry officer’s sword bowed to the trend with a curved, hatchet-pointed regulation sabre, albeit with a more ornate hilt that owed less to the cavalry. Even after 1803 non-regulation fighting sabres remained widespread and popular. A continuous feedback loop between officers and manufacturers led to a wide variety of interesting design features, and several regiments implemented their own bespoke sabres. The blade has some nicks and notches to its edge, not very sharp but with old sharpening marks. Areas of blade patination and pitting, some of which impact the engraving. The ivory grip has some chipping at the pommel end and next to the ferrule, but remains firm in the hand. The brass scabbard fittings have some small dents , the leather of the scabbard has some surface flaking, cracks and dents. The sword sheathes and draws smoothly. The leather washer may be a later replacement. Due to the ivory used in the grip, this sword cannot be exported from the UK . It has been declared and registered as antique ivory under the provisions of the UK Ivory Act and can therefore be sold within the UK. Please note this is a one-time registration: if you purchase this sword and wish to resell it you must register it again.