More planning and questions for the coming display. I’ve made two boards that I’ll be mounting the heavy cavalry and light cavalry swords on. But I’m uncertain if I should mount them with or without scabbards.
With their scabbards:
Without:
Or a combination:
(The boards aren’t equal length since the light cavalry sabres are shorter and I don’t want to extend past the table too far. Of course, I use the wrong swords on this board for the photos).
Five 18th Century smallswords from France, The Netherlands (Batave Republic) and Spain. From left to right they are:
Spanish cup-hilted smallsword. This sword is a hybrid of the Spanish cup-hilted rapier and the French Smallsword. It has a long lozenge cross-sectioned blade with piercings at the forte. The ricasso is covered under a block that is part of the guard. The larger cup guard provides plenty of room to hook the finger over the quillon.
Military officers smallsword from the era of the Batave Republic. This type was first identified as a model by collector and author; G.R. Hof based on existing examples and a painting in the Dutch Army Museum of a Grenadier Guards officer.
An early French m1767 Infantry officers smallsword with a colichmarde blade.
The last two are civilian, the first has a steel guard with classical figures in gold gilt. It is very light (270grams) with a long trefoil blade. The right most sword has a silver hilt, hallmarked to Paris 1760. The blade is by Guyon I’Ainé.
Playing with different backgrounds for displaying swords on. The blue is quite a cold colour, especially with all the bare steel. And at times the bluing also gets lost. I think the burgundy works well, so I will probably use that for the coming display. The top two swords are Georgian era non-regulation infantry officers swords. While the bottom two are 1796 Pattern swords, the one with the boatshell guard is for General Officers or Dragoon Officers dismounted service while the one with the Pas d’Ane guard is for infantry officers
Georgian era ‘horse head pommel’ presentation sabres.
These highly ornate swords with ivory grips, gold or silver wire and gold gilding often featuring martial motives were often given to ‘noteable’ people by their peer or subordinates as a sign of respect.
Very often, these hilts were matched to beautifully decorated but still functional sword blades.
Source: images posted with permission of a private collector
‘Horse head pommel’ presentation sabres by William Archer of Dublin.
Horse head pommels are not commonly encountered and not a lot is know about them. Most are very ornate and are believed to have belonged to Yeomanry or Militia officers rather than regular army.
That is not to say that they couldn’t have been the property of a regular army officer, since many of the Yeomanry and Militia did go on to serve in the military, only that the sword would not have been carried as part of their uniform.
Both of these swords were presented to Yeomanry Captains by their fellow officers in late 1800.
William Archer appears to have been a prominent maker of this style of sabre with many carrying his trade name.
Source: images posted with permission of a private collector
‘Pinch of Snuff’ Basket-hilted broadsword.
While the bulk of my collection focuses on swords from the late 18th and early 19th Century. There are some pieces that fall outside of that but are still very much in the ‘oh I want one of those!’ category.
The iconic basket-hilted broadsword or backsword is very much in this group.
This sword was a gift from my family for a milestone birthday. It is a composite (as many basket hilts are) of a brass ‘Pinch of Snuff’ basket, London made blade and replacement grip.
This basket style is named after the famous painting of a Scottish soldier reaching into his snuff box with his claymore under his arm. The painting is from 1750 and is attributed to William Delacour. It is the first known image showing this unique style of basket.
(Note that at this time, Scottish basket hilts were commonly called claymores, so the term is correct for this period. Prior to that it was also used to describe a type of great sword).
Typically these hilts are steel but I have seen at least one other identical hilt sold at auction last year.
The blade is from an earlier sword dated to 1668, it is marked on both sides with: THOMAS HVMFFREIES LONDIN FECIT ANNO 1668
The spelling is fairly typical of a time before dictionaries and the standardisation of the English language. The inscription can be read as:
Thomas Humphries, London made, year 1668
Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find any other examples of Thomas’ work.
Stats: Overall Length - 940 mm Blade Length - 795 mm Grip Length - 145 mm Inside Grip Length - 105 mm Weight - 1,010 grams Point of Balance - 45 mm
Grenadier Officer’s sabre in the 1803 Pattern ‘Flank Officers’ sabre style.
This is another one of those wonderful swords from the Georgian era that are so hard to neatly slot into a category as modern collectors are wont to do.
The sword has a slotted guard and lions head pommel that is identical to the 1803 Pattern. However, instead of having the GR Cypher of King George III - the reigning monarch at the time. It has the flaming bomb emblem of the grenadiers surrounded by a wreath of Acanthus leaf or possibly grape leaves.
The Acanthus leaf featured strongly in classical Greek and Roman art and was picked up in the Neo-classical style of the Georgian / Napoleonic era.
Because the blade is plain is is difficult to date the sword, but we know that by 1800 Flank officers (Grenadier and Light Company) had been granted leave to carry sabres in place of the 1796 Pattern infantry officers sword. In 1803 this became regulation with the introduction of the 1803 Pattern Officers sword.
The 1803 was an accumulation of features, such as the slotted guard and lions head pommel, that were already popular at the time. So it is possible that this sabre pre-dated the 1803 Pattern. But in the balance of it’s condition and features I suspect this is not the case.
The sabre has a long, heavy blade with a grossly exaggerated curve. Truth be told, it is highly inappropriate for the fighting style taught in this time. It was however very fashionable, and many officers of the British and French armies were more than happy to forego practically in favour of fashion.
In the end, it doesn’t really matter what the pattern is. It’s a great looking sword that nicely illustrates one of the unique style of swords from the era.
Different 1803 Pattern Officer’s sabres showing the variation in length and curve:
Stats: Overall Length - 956 mm Blade Length - 822 mm Grip Length - 138 mm Inside Grip Length - 96 mm Weight - 890 grams Total Weight - 1,450 grams Point of Balance - 170 mm
British 1796 Pattern Heavy Cavalry Officer’s undress sword
This is my second 1796 Pattern heavy cavalry officer’s undress sword. Undress means that this was the sword that the officer would carry while in the field or on active service. In addition to his regular uniform he was required to own a dress uniform and one for full dress. The latter being worn when at official functions or at a ball. For officers of the heavy cavalry this was sword with a gilded boatshell hilt and straight blade. These can be found with either steel or leather scabbards which might be the difference between dress and full dress.
As the British army did not have many heavy cavalry regiments, this pattern of sword is significantly less common than the 1796 Pattern for light cavalry. To find one with its scabbard is even rarer. So when this one came available, I jumped on it.
As needs must, I have sold my other 1796 HC, but while I have them side by side it is interesting to see the differences between them. Because all officer swords were private purchase there is considerable variation between the examples. Some have plain blades while others have engraving enhances by blue and gilt. The guards differ in their detailing and can be symmetrical or asymmetrical in accordance with the desires of the officer.
My first sword has a much larger guard than the second but a shorter grip. It is thicker at the base of a plain blade while narrowing down quickly with a complex distal taper. My guess is that this sword would have belonged to a more junior officer, being less ostentatious.
It is, however no less functional as a sword and has a more pronounced spear tip making it more suitable for thrusting. A common complaint of the original blade profile.
In contrast, the new swords has a marginally thinner blade with a linear distal taper. It retains the remnants of the original bluing and gilt. Showing the typical British coat of Arms, GR cypher and attacking cavalry man. The furrell and back-strap of the grip are also faceted for stylistic effect.
Stats: Overall Length - 1,020 mm Blade Length - 890 mm Grip Length - 141 mm Inside Grip Length - 134 mm Weight - 980 grams Total Weight - 1,580 grams Point of Balance - 135 mm
Yeah, it’s new sword day! Three swords arrived from the UK today, one was a present from my family for my 50th… Another was the last sword I purchased in 2022 and the third being the first sword purchase for 2023.
From left to right they are: - 1796 Pattern Heavy cavalry officers undress sword - Basket-hilted broadsword with a ‘pinch of snuff’ basket. - Grenadier officers’ sabre in the style of the 1803 Pattern ‘flank officers sabre’
[abridged article by Peter Dekker, Mandarin Mansion Antiques, 2020; text and photographs licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]
A lot of the khukurī ( खुकुरी ) related vernacular in use today among collectors is based on oral traditions, and there is a lot of variety between the various glossaries that are scattered over the web. This is in part due to the various languages and dialects in use in the cultural melting pot that is Nepal.
Over time, concepts and terminology change, and on top of that many things are simply forgotten, misinterpreted, or misremembered. This article presents an annotated overview of historical khukurī terminology. The bulk of the terms come from the first Nepali-English dictionary, compiled by Sir Ralph Lilley Turner (1888 - 1983). In 1931 he wrote "A Comparative and Etymological Dictionary of the Nepali Language" which serves as the main source for the overview of terms that follows below. [1]
*Cirā is the only word in the list that is not directly related to the khukurī in the dictionary, but it is probably the word that is widely known today as chirra.
According to Taylor, cirā is derived of cirnu, literally "To split, rip up, cut, lacerate" is the word used for the ridges between each groove. [2] It is also used in the slightly different form, ciro (चिरो) to describe: "A splinter; cut, slice; (esp.) a slice of cucumber cut lengthwise."
A number of khukurī types are differentiated by the layout of their fullers, or the absence thereof:
Notes 1. Sir Ralph Lilley Turner; A comparative and etymological dictionary of the Nepali language. London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1931. 2. I owe Jonathan Said for explaining that the chirra actually denote the ridges and not the fullers themselves. Personal communication. 3. Resham Shercha, an ex Gurkha. Personal communication.
Referred to as the ‘Côtes de Melon’, after the distinctive pommel that is shaped like the ‘ribs of the melon’. This style of sabre gained popularity amongst French officers from the late 1700s and remained in use until the introduction of the model 1821 infantry and 1822 cavalry sabres during the Restoration era.
Aside from the pommel, the type is distinguished by the simple stirrup hilt with langets and a single quillion. The grip are made from hardwood and can be checkered or have longitudinal groves. Often the knuckle guard has a stylised olive decorative feature. Swords belonging to superior officers would have been silver plated.
The swords of light cavalry officers can be identified by their length and dual suspension rings on the scabbard. Superior officers typically had ornate metal scabbards while infantry officers preferred shorter sabres with a frog stud for use with the cross-belt.
This sabre is was most likely owned by an officer of the light cavalry. The blade is particularly large and sturdy and the scabbard has the dual suspension rings. The blade is decorated in the typical oriental fashion of the late 18th Century with faux Islamic / cabalistic script and an ‘Ottoman’s head’. On the spine of the blade there is a very nice Solingen rose, but no other identifying manufacturers marks.
The simple ‘baguette’ shaped langets, blade decorations and plain knuckle guard may indicate that this is an early example of the type, or that it was used by an officer of another nation, imitating French fashion.
Basket hilted sword crafted by Johannes Wundes the Younger, Germany, dated 1662
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art
German produced blade for the English market. This style of ‘mortuary hilt’ is unique to England in the mid 17th Century. This is a particularly fine combination blade and hilt.
First sword delivery of 2023 has finally arrived. Not my first purchase this year but the first to reach me.
The top sword is a large and heavy French First Empire era cuirassier officers sabre with the ‘Garde de Bataille’ hilt. The blade is is marked with the Solingen Rose on the spine and retains a small amount of etching. Unfortunately it’s missing its’ scabbard and I will try and get a reproduction one made for it. The second is a French light cavalry officers sabre with the ‘Cote de Melon’ style hilt. This one is likely from the First Republic era. It has a very stout blade that is proportional to one on a troopers’ sabre. Again the blade was made in Solingen and features the typical talismanic engraving typical of the late 18th Century.
A comparison of the French light and heavy cavalry swords to their British contemporaries of the era.
A selection of Georgian era British sabres with sword knots. The three on the right are most likely correct for the period. The second from the left could be Georgian or a little later because of the bullion tassels. No clue what the first on the left is, but it needed a sword, so here it is. Sword knots such as these would have primarily been used for dress. In the field the officer would have used a leather cord or silk scarf attached to the guard and looped around their wrist. This allowed them to drop the sword and free their hands without risking the loss of their weapon. It also made it more difficult to disarm them. Silk was a popular choice as the material is light and very strong.
