Forgeries of Napoleonic era swords
Jun 7, 2021 22:33:45 GMT
Post by bas on Jun 7, 2021 22:33:45 GMT
There are a couple of expressions in the gun collecting community that I always like to keep in the back of my mind when evaluating a sword purchase:
“Buy the gun, not the story.”
And
”There are more German sniper rifles in circulation than the Wehrmacht ever procured.”
This is advice that is equally relevant when purchasing antique swords. The unfortunate reality is that when there is money to be made by dressing an item up, dishonest folk will do it. It could be adding a false inscription or making a new item look old, or just by spinning a great yarn about the item. Of the latter, I can think of two well known sword dealers that have made this their business model.
Bringing this back to French Napoleonic swords. There are additional complicating factors that need to be considered when evaluating a purchase.
To quote Dr. Paul Wilcocks on another forum:
To mitigate the risk of getting stung by an unscrupulous seller, the standard advice is to buy books and to handle as many authentic swords as possible. I have personally found this advice, while well meaning, difficult to follow. Many of the books that come as recommended are out of print and difficult to source (and expensive when available). Or in my case, the local sword market is small and it is difficult to get good hands on experience. My solution is to troll the internet and build up a reference database of images, not an infallible method but until my library improves, all I can do. Building relationships with known experts, even if across digital platforms has also proven to be invaluable.
Which brings me to an example of the level of uncertainty that one can expect when dealing with French Napoleonic swords. This sword attracted my attention last year as an ‘affordable’ quality French Hussar officer’s sabre.
1st Empire silvered light cavalry officer sabre
Doing my due diligence I started trolling for similar examples and found this exact same sword sold previously by another dealer:
REPRODUCTION OF A LIGHT CAVALRY OFFICER'S SABER, Consulate - Empire type, 20th century manufacture.
I personally do not have the experience of either of these two dealers so cannot make any claim as to which one is correct in their assessment of the sword. But my personal choice was to err on the side of caution especially with that kind of money at stake.
It should also be added that Mr Bertrand Malvaux is an accredited expert on this era and his opinion is highly regarded by those that collect French swords.
Here is a nice video from MR Malvaux illustrating the difference between three versions of the French Marines sabre, authentic, Restoration period and copy:
Another example of a Napoleonic sword pattern to be weary of is the Imperial Honor Guard of the city of Stasbourg sabre or Sabre with battle guard of the Imperial Guard of Honour of the City of Strasbourg. This sword type has been extensively copied and one collector warned that there now more in circulation than there were officers of the Strasbourg Imperial Honour Guard. Again I make no claims on the authenticity of either of the swords shown.
In closing, I see a lot of collectors looking at a sword and then scouring the websites of know manufacturers of reproductions looking for the more obvious tells that the sword could be an aged reproduction. When researching French swords of this era this approach is only the beginning, and more detailed examination is recommended.
Finally, for those that are interested in building a library on French swords, these are the ones that come recommended (all in French I’m afraid):
Please add any more books or links you may have, we are all here to learn.
“Buy the gun, not the story.”
And
”There are more German sniper rifles in circulation than the Wehrmacht ever procured.”
This is advice that is equally relevant when purchasing antique swords. The unfortunate reality is that when there is money to be made by dressing an item up, dishonest folk will do it. It could be adding a false inscription or making a new item look old, or just by spinning a great yarn about the item. Of the latter, I can think of two well known sword dealers that have made this their business model.
Bringing this back to French Napoleonic swords. There are additional complicating factors that need to be considered when evaluating a purchase.
- In the late 19th Century there was a revision of the Napoleonic style amongst French officer swords. These swords are themselves over 100 years old now and have the appropriate patina.
- There were a couple of very able forgers in the early 20th Century that produced high quality fakes (to the point that one type are now collectable).
To quote Dr. Paul Wilcocks on another forum:
I’m picking this up from the thread on Fakes because I thought it may be helpful to clarify some of the issues around a particular group of French reproductions.
Swords that are referred to as ‘Romel copies’ were commissioned by Romel, a wealthy collector. According to L’Hoste & Buigne, the swords were manufactured between the wars by an old employee of Lepage named August Mangeot and it is thought that there were between 10 and 12 of each sword reproduced. These were all high quality examples such as Grenadier a Cheval of the Imperial Guard and the ‘Arco’. Romel died in 1948 aged 90. Presumably this is when the copies began to filter onto the market.(1)
I have included some images courtesy of my friend David Peters from old ‘Le Hussard’ catalogues for reference. These swords have now become collectors items in their own right.(2)
Hope this is useful.
Paul
(1) Ref: Armes Blanches: Symbolism, Inscriptions, Marquages, Fourbisseurs, Manufactures. L’Hoste J & Buigne J.J., La Tour du Pain, (1999) p.196
(2) Examples from Le Hussard, Noel 1995; Hiver 1996; Automne 1997
Swords that are referred to as ‘Romel copies’ were commissioned by Romel, a wealthy collector. According to L’Hoste & Buigne, the swords were manufactured between the wars by an old employee of Lepage named August Mangeot and it is thought that there were between 10 and 12 of each sword reproduced. These were all high quality examples such as Grenadier a Cheval of the Imperial Guard and the ‘Arco’. Romel died in 1948 aged 90. Presumably this is when the copies began to filter onto the market.(1)
I have included some images courtesy of my friend David Peters from old ‘Le Hussard’ catalogues for reference. These swords have now become collectors items in their own right.(2)
Hope this is useful.
Paul
(1) Ref: Armes Blanches: Symbolism, Inscriptions, Marquages, Fourbisseurs, Manufactures. L’Hoste J & Buigne J.J., La Tour du Pain, (1999) p.196
(2) Examples from Le Hussard, Noel 1995; Hiver 1996; Automne 1997
To mitigate the risk of getting stung by an unscrupulous seller, the standard advice is to buy books and to handle as many authentic swords as possible. I have personally found this advice, while well meaning, difficult to follow. Many of the books that come as recommended are out of print and difficult to source (and expensive when available). Or in my case, the local sword market is small and it is difficult to get good hands on experience. My solution is to troll the internet and build up a reference database of images, not an infallible method but until my library improves, all I can do. Building relationships with known experts, even if across digital platforms has also proven to be invaluable.
Which brings me to an example of the level of uncertainty that one can expect when dealing with French Napoleonic swords. This sword attracted my attention last year as an ‘affordable’ quality French Hussar officer’s sabre.
1st Empire silvered light cavalry officer sabre
Doing my due diligence I started trolling for similar examples and found this exact same sword sold previously by another dealer:
REPRODUCTION OF A LIGHT CAVALRY OFFICER'S SABER, Consulate - Empire type, 20th century manufacture.
I personally do not have the experience of either of these two dealers so cannot make any claim as to which one is correct in their assessment of the sword. But my personal choice was to err on the side of caution especially with that kind of money at stake.
It should also be added that Mr Bertrand Malvaux is an accredited expert on this era and his opinion is highly regarded by those that collect French swords.
Here is a nice video from MR Malvaux illustrating the difference between three versions of the French Marines sabre, authentic, Restoration period and copy:
Another example of a Napoleonic sword pattern to be weary of is the Imperial Honor Guard of the city of Stasbourg sabre or Sabre with battle guard of the Imperial Guard of Honour of the City of Strasbourg. This sword type has been extensively copied and one collector warned that there now more in circulation than there were officers of the Strasbourg Imperial Honour Guard. Again I make no claims on the authenticity of either of the swords shown.
In closing, I see a lot of collectors looking at a sword and then scouring the websites of know manufacturers of reproductions looking for the more obvious tells that the sword could be an aged reproduction. When researching French swords of this era this approach is only the beginning, and more detailed examination is recommended.
Finally, for those that are interested in building a library on French swords, these are the ones that come recommended (all in French I’m afraid):
- Sabres Francais 1680 - 1814 by Christian Blondieau
- Les sabres des hussards : l'histoire des sabres des hussards de louis xiv a nos jours By Michel Pétard
- Des sabres et des épées. Volume 1, Troupes à cheval : de Louis XIV à l'Empire by Michel Pétard
- Des sabres et des épées. Volume 2, Troupes à cheval : de l'Empire à nos jours by Michel Pétard
- Des sabres et des épées. Volume 3, Troupes à pieds, de Louis XIV à nos jours by Michel Pétard
- Armes Blanches Symbolisme Inscriptions by Jean L'Host
- Les Sabres by Jean L’Host
- Armes Blanches by Cristian Aries
- Sabres Francais de la Restauration 1814 - 1830 by Jean Ondry
Please add any more books or links you may have, we are all here to learn.