Pottenstein signed Austrian/Hungarian "Madonna Saber"
Oct 30, 2021 17:49:46 GMT
Post by jack88 on Oct 30, 2021 17:49:46 GMT
Hello everyone!
Buckle up; this will be a more in-depth write-up than usual. This sword has taken me across the entire internet, across multiple languages, to dig up the requisite information to give it justice. Information on these "Madonna Sabers" are scarce and likely locked away in an Austrian/Hungarian castle somewhere collecting dust instead of published on the internet for the world to see.
The story begins with one of the superpowers of the day, the Hapsburg dynasty:
The Stage:
The 18th century would see the end of the Hapsburg line and the eventual formation of the Austrian Empire. In 1683 the Ottomans would siege Vienna one last time, ultimately failing when the city was relieved by a coalition army famously led by the Poles. The early 18th century would see the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714) ultimately failing to install the Hapsburg candidate to the Spanish throne but seeing territorial gains with Sardinia and part of Italy. The 18th century would see a failing dynasty and a tumultuous era where the Austrian army struggled to maintain its superpower status. Austria entered another war in support of Russia in 1737 and performed poorly, suffering a significant defeat at Belgrade and losing it to the Ottomans. Russians, on the other hand, had multiple successes against the Ottomans, displaying Austrian military weakness. Emperor Charles VI failed to produce a male heir and would force the other powers to accept his daughter Maria Theresa as the next sovereign. Frederick the Great, seeing opportunity, invaded Silesia and began the War of Austrian Succession (1740-48) and would pit the Hapsburgs against France, Spain, and Prussians. The fate of the Austrian Netherlands was finally sealed, and Silesia was lost to the Prussians. In 1748 her husband Francis I was crowned emperor until his death in 1765 when she began to rule with her son Joseph II.
Battle of Fontenoy 1745
The French Revolution in 1789 would throw Europe into chaos and begin the series of the Napoleonic wars where Austria would be a key player. Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France and the youngest daughter of Maria Theresa, would be famously guillotined in 1793, thrusting France and Austria into war. The 18th century saw Austria fight many wars, and under Maria Theresa's leadership, it would strive to increase domestic production of weaponry.
Pottenstein:
Pottenstein refers to territory along the Triesting river SW of Vienna. In 1765 a Swiss-born merchant Melchior Steinar relocated the production facility from Sollenau to Pottenstein. Annual production of blades surmounted to approximately 12,000 blades annually. The business expanded in 1769 to another factory. In 1786 Steiner's nephew Melchior Ritter would take over the company, and by 1800 the firm employed 50 workers. The Napoleonic wars would see near destruction to the factory, which only employed seven workers in 1811 and nearly closed in 1814. Melchior would pass away in 1837 and see the factory finally liquidated in 1841 to become a cotton mill.
Pottenstein, Austria not to be confused with Pottenstein, Bavaria
Signatures from Pottenstein are all hand done and vary from simple a "P" for troopers blades to block lettering or cursive signatures on private officer's orders.
Basic P on a troopers sword from the end of the 18th century.
Another variation of trooper markings
This saber is a bit of a head-scratcher. The date does not align with the documented production dates of Pottenstein. An expert from Hermann Historica thinks it was added later, but perhaps there was a minimal production there before Steiner's acquisition. The rest of the sword appears genuine, and I will be talking about fakes later in the thread.
Cursive signature on a Madonna
The origin of the Hussar
Mastery of equestrian warfare is unquestionably derived from the great steppe; empires and kingdoms rose and fell through significant migratory periods of steppe horsemen. The advent of gunpowder and disciplined infantry formations saw the fall of many of the great horsepowers. However, few distinct peoples maintained a legacy of horsemanship into early modern warfare. "Hussar" is hypothesized to be derived from an Uyghur (Hun-origin) word for soldier. The Hungarian king Matthias Hunyadi describes such light cavalry in a letter to the King of Naples, his father-in-law in the late 15th century. The fighting style of light cavalry was not a new conception; however, when the great powers moved away from heavy cavalry due to gunpowder and pike techniques, the Hungarians showed their aptitude in filling this role against the Ottoman Turks. In 1526 the Hungarian army was smashed by the Ottomans at Mohacs, and half the country lost. The rest of Hungary was only recovered when Hapsburg forces aided by other Christian nations drove the Ottomans out in 1686. The Hapsburgs gained control of Hungary by the treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. Thus Hungarian regiments entered the Hapsburg army and began a military reform across Europe in which all Western powers would adopt their own form of the lionized hussars.
Austrian Swords
Depiction of Austrian trooper variants
Swords of the Austrian/Hungarian cavalry would directly influence all European sword designs of the 18th century. Copies and imitations would be found across Europe, ranging from French Old Monarchy hussar sabers which look like direct copies of Hungarian blades from the 1760s to Le Marchant famously copying the 1760 light cavalry and pallaschs for the Brits. The Prussian 1811 Blucher then would be the grandson of the 1760 modeled Hungarian sabers. The depiction above illustrates the slight changes from early sabers to the Napoleonic era directly derived from the iconic early Hungarian sabers.
The Madonna saber:
The virgin Mary was widely venerated in Hungary and considered the patron saint of Hungary; this was expressed widely by votive pictures in this era. Any blades with the virgin Mary inscribed onto the blade can be assumed to be private purchases for Hungarian officers in hussar regiments in the Austria/Hapsburg military. Most of these blades are finished with brass fittings and generally follow the same model with slight variations.
There is a wide variation of the depiction of Mary on the blades. Considering all of these drawings were done by hand, this is not surprising. The two main variations are: Mary holding baby Jesus, or with her hands in prayer position. Both types are well documented in the various material.
My Madonna saber
These are the professional pictures done by the auction house and prior to cleaning up the scabbard. The silver was was obviously in desperate need of polishing and quite easily fixed with some basic silver polish. By its polishing properties I can attest it is likely a low grade silver, very similar to the same type of fittings on my Ottoman pala. After polish:
Close up of Madonna inscription on the blade
Full inscription
Latin translation: Mary, mother of God, protector of Hungary I fly under your protection
The reverse side has the "Hungarian cross" or "patriarchal" cross, which has been a part of Hungarian symbolism since 1190 and is even further derived from the Byzantines. King Bela III was raised in the Byzantine court and brought the cross north when he became the king of Hungary. The cross even made it to Western Europe and is known as the "Lorraine cross" due to Rene the Good, who had Hungarian ancestry and won the Duchy of Lorraine after the battle of Nancy.
Latin on top of the cross: "Under this tree(cross) you'll win"
Latin under the cross: "Oh god of armies be valiant with me"
My reliance on translators obviously may have those slightly off. If anyone with actual Latin knowledge can better translate them, I would much appreciate it!!
The "Pottenstein" signature on my sword
The stats of the sword:
Sword in scabbard weight - 3 lb 10.5 oz / 1660 grams
Sword weight - 1 lb 12 oz / 794 grams
Overall length in scabbard - 38 3/4"
Length out of scabbard - 37 3/4"
Blade length - 33"
Point of balance - 8" from hilt
Grip length - 4"
This sword handles well. The quality of construction is evident upon drawing it. The handle is slightly undersized for my large hand, but it remains comfortable and sturdy. It is surprisingly lighter than my Dawes British 1796 Officer despite being larger and feeling sturdier. It is very comparable in size to my 1811 Blucher, though much more lightweight. I will later be making a comparison between the three blades.
Picture of the peen
The leather on the grip and scabbard are pretty worn and were likely repainted at one point in an attempted restoration.
You must notice the crude repair done with a small screw to tighten the leather on the handle. I removed the screw to determine its age. It is an early modern screw. I had no idea there is quite a bit of research done online about screws! Don't go down that rabbit hole! But the information is there should you ever come across a screw and want to determine its age.
Unverified Palace/Household Guard trim:
It is a documented fact that later Austro-Hungarian household guards in the mid 19th century had only silver fittings to their uniforms and weapons, such as this similar mid 19th-century blade.
I cannot find any definitive information regarding earlier trims to Austrian/Hungarian weapons uniforms to determine if this is true or not. Still, I find it likely proper due to the overall construction and shape of this sword. This sword was undoubtedly owned by well-to-do Hungarian officer's and has been well kept and restored in its time.
Forgeries:
Sadly fakes have become plentiful in the antique sword market. Anyone who follows some of the antique sword Facebook groups can attest to that. Daily posts are made about poorly made forgeries as the real thing for a lucrative profit. Now I have had to defend the authenticity of this sword, but I find that easy to do. These Madonna sabers are often faked in the Eastern European market and originate from Russia and Poland. Most of us can spot the Indian/Chinese garbage that is passed off as genuine quickly. The higher quality of construction out of the Eastern European region does make it more difficult, but it takes some detective work to affirm authenticity.
The knee-jerk reaction that this sword is a forgery is primarily due to its remarkable shape. As I have demonstrated, the illustrations of these Madonna sabers vary widely as they were all hand done and over some 50 years (1760-1811). A strange snippet of history was the 1916 coronation of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor. These swords were produced in abundance to be worn for the ceremony by high-ranking military guests. Though, these swords are all adequately marked by their makers and often sell for a high premium themselves! Pottenstein was long gone by 1916, so that removes that possibility. The depth and style of the inscription of Pottenstein match the other inscriptions, so it is not a later addition. That leaves the case of modern forgeries.
The validation of authenticity:
Having become what could be considered a sword detective, I have learned what to look for with these research projects. This concept is simple: what cannot be faked? Leather. Leather is tough to age uniformly, especially leather on the sheath, as its size will shrink and change. The leather pictured above on the scabbard and grip is in abysmal shape despite being repainted (drops can be seen in the holes in the leather).
Lastly, impossible to picture here is the aging of the wood slats internally to the sheath. They're in deplorable shape and show the requisite aging of more than 200 years.
To Conclude:
As the expert, I contacted at Hermann Historica said, these sabers are a minefield of forgeries. I do not recommend entering this market without an expansive knowledge and buying from a reputable dealer as I did. It is an incredible and elegant saber, though it has me altogether reconsidering how I want to display my collection. My 1796 and 1811 will likely be robbed from their positions to display with their Hungarian grandfather. I will next and soon be making a comparison of the three. I will not be reviewing individually the 1811 or 1796 as they've been overwrought with reviews on the internet.
Special thanks to Uhlan, Pino and Calien for contributing research!
Hope you enjoyed the read!
Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchal_cross#Hungary
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habsburg_Monarchy
localhistories.org/a-brief-history-of-austria/
www.lovasok.hu/index-archive.php?i=15824
www.biographien.ac.at/oebl/oebl_S/Steiner_Melchior_1762_1837.xml
Cut and Thrust Weapons - Wagner
Ungarischer Sabel und Husaren-Pallasch - Frederic Jager
Buckle up; this will be a more in-depth write-up than usual. This sword has taken me across the entire internet, across multiple languages, to dig up the requisite information to give it justice. Information on these "Madonna Sabers" are scarce and likely locked away in an Austrian/Hungarian castle somewhere collecting dust instead of published on the internet for the world to see.
The story begins with one of the superpowers of the day, the Hapsburg dynasty:
The Stage:
The 18th century would see the end of the Hapsburg line and the eventual formation of the Austrian Empire. In 1683 the Ottomans would siege Vienna one last time, ultimately failing when the city was relieved by a coalition army famously led by the Poles. The early 18th century would see the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714) ultimately failing to install the Hapsburg candidate to the Spanish throne but seeing territorial gains with Sardinia and part of Italy. The 18th century would see a failing dynasty and a tumultuous era where the Austrian army struggled to maintain its superpower status. Austria entered another war in support of Russia in 1737 and performed poorly, suffering a significant defeat at Belgrade and losing it to the Ottomans. Russians, on the other hand, had multiple successes against the Ottomans, displaying Austrian military weakness. Emperor Charles VI failed to produce a male heir and would force the other powers to accept his daughter Maria Theresa as the next sovereign. Frederick the Great, seeing opportunity, invaded Silesia and began the War of Austrian Succession (1740-48) and would pit the Hapsburgs against France, Spain, and Prussians. The fate of the Austrian Netherlands was finally sealed, and Silesia was lost to the Prussians. In 1748 her husband Francis I was crowned emperor until his death in 1765 when she began to rule with her son Joseph II.
Battle of Fontenoy 1745
The French Revolution in 1789 would throw Europe into chaos and begin the series of the Napoleonic wars where Austria would be a key player. Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France and the youngest daughter of Maria Theresa, would be famously guillotined in 1793, thrusting France and Austria into war. The 18th century saw Austria fight many wars, and under Maria Theresa's leadership, it would strive to increase domestic production of weaponry.
Pottenstein:
Pottenstein refers to territory along the Triesting river SW of Vienna. In 1765 a Swiss-born merchant Melchior Steinar relocated the production facility from Sollenau to Pottenstein. Annual production of blades surmounted to approximately 12,000 blades annually. The business expanded in 1769 to another factory. In 1786 Steiner's nephew Melchior Ritter would take over the company, and by 1800 the firm employed 50 workers. The Napoleonic wars would see near destruction to the factory, which only employed seven workers in 1811 and nearly closed in 1814. Melchior would pass away in 1837 and see the factory finally liquidated in 1841 to become a cotton mill.
Pottenstein, Austria not to be confused with Pottenstein, Bavaria
Signatures from Pottenstein are all hand done and vary from simple a "P" for troopers blades to block lettering or cursive signatures on private officer's orders.
Basic P on a troopers sword from the end of the 18th century.
Another variation of trooper markings
This saber is a bit of a head-scratcher. The date does not align with the documented production dates of Pottenstein. An expert from Hermann Historica thinks it was added later, but perhaps there was a minimal production there before Steiner's acquisition. The rest of the sword appears genuine, and I will be talking about fakes later in the thread.
Cursive signature on a Madonna
The origin of the Hussar
Mastery of equestrian warfare is unquestionably derived from the great steppe; empires and kingdoms rose and fell through significant migratory periods of steppe horsemen. The advent of gunpowder and disciplined infantry formations saw the fall of many of the great horsepowers. However, few distinct peoples maintained a legacy of horsemanship into early modern warfare. "Hussar" is hypothesized to be derived from an Uyghur (Hun-origin) word for soldier. The Hungarian king Matthias Hunyadi describes such light cavalry in a letter to the King of Naples, his father-in-law in the late 15th century. The fighting style of light cavalry was not a new conception; however, when the great powers moved away from heavy cavalry due to gunpowder and pike techniques, the Hungarians showed their aptitude in filling this role against the Ottoman Turks. In 1526 the Hungarian army was smashed by the Ottomans at Mohacs, and half the country lost. The rest of Hungary was only recovered when Hapsburg forces aided by other Christian nations drove the Ottomans out in 1686. The Hapsburgs gained control of Hungary by the treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. Thus Hungarian regiments entered the Hapsburg army and began a military reform across Europe in which all Western powers would adopt their own form of the lionized hussars.
Austrian Swords
Depiction of Austrian trooper variants
Swords of the Austrian/Hungarian cavalry would directly influence all European sword designs of the 18th century. Copies and imitations would be found across Europe, ranging from French Old Monarchy hussar sabers which look like direct copies of Hungarian blades from the 1760s to Le Marchant famously copying the 1760 light cavalry and pallaschs for the Brits. The Prussian 1811 Blucher then would be the grandson of the 1760 modeled Hungarian sabers. The depiction above illustrates the slight changes from early sabers to the Napoleonic era directly derived from the iconic early Hungarian sabers.
The Madonna saber:
The virgin Mary was widely venerated in Hungary and considered the patron saint of Hungary; this was expressed widely by votive pictures in this era. Any blades with the virgin Mary inscribed onto the blade can be assumed to be private purchases for Hungarian officers in hussar regiments in the Austria/Hapsburg military. Most of these blades are finished with brass fittings and generally follow the same model with slight variations.
There is a wide variation of the depiction of Mary on the blades. Considering all of these drawings were done by hand, this is not surprising. The two main variations are: Mary holding baby Jesus, or with her hands in prayer position. Both types are well documented in the various material.
My Madonna saber
These are the professional pictures done by the auction house and prior to cleaning up the scabbard. The silver was was obviously in desperate need of polishing and quite easily fixed with some basic silver polish. By its polishing properties I can attest it is likely a low grade silver, very similar to the same type of fittings on my Ottoman pala. After polish:
Close up of Madonna inscription on the blade
Full inscription
Latin translation: Mary, mother of God, protector of Hungary I fly under your protection
The reverse side has the "Hungarian cross" or "patriarchal" cross, which has been a part of Hungarian symbolism since 1190 and is even further derived from the Byzantines. King Bela III was raised in the Byzantine court and brought the cross north when he became the king of Hungary. The cross even made it to Western Europe and is known as the "Lorraine cross" due to Rene the Good, who had Hungarian ancestry and won the Duchy of Lorraine after the battle of Nancy.
Latin on top of the cross: "Under this tree(cross) you'll win"
Latin under the cross: "Oh god of armies be valiant with me"
My reliance on translators obviously may have those slightly off. If anyone with actual Latin knowledge can better translate them, I would much appreciate it!!
The "Pottenstein" signature on my sword
The stats of the sword:
Sword in scabbard weight - 3 lb 10.5 oz / 1660 grams
Sword weight - 1 lb 12 oz / 794 grams
Overall length in scabbard - 38 3/4"
Length out of scabbard - 37 3/4"
Blade length - 33"
Point of balance - 8" from hilt
Grip length - 4"
This sword handles well. The quality of construction is evident upon drawing it. The handle is slightly undersized for my large hand, but it remains comfortable and sturdy. It is surprisingly lighter than my Dawes British 1796 Officer despite being larger and feeling sturdier. It is very comparable in size to my 1811 Blucher, though much more lightweight. I will later be making a comparison between the three blades.
Picture of the peen
The leather on the grip and scabbard are pretty worn and were likely repainted at one point in an attempted restoration.
You must notice the crude repair done with a small screw to tighten the leather on the handle. I removed the screw to determine its age. It is an early modern screw. I had no idea there is quite a bit of research done online about screws! Don't go down that rabbit hole! But the information is there should you ever come across a screw and want to determine its age.
Unverified Palace/Household Guard trim:
It is a documented fact that later Austro-Hungarian household guards in the mid 19th century had only silver fittings to their uniforms and weapons, such as this similar mid 19th-century blade.
I cannot find any definitive information regarding earlier trims to Austrian/Hungarian weapons uniforms to determine if this is true or not. Still, I find it likely proper due to the overall construction and shape of this sword. This sword was undoubtedly owned by well-to-do Hungarian officer's and has been well kept and restored in its time.
Forgeries:
Sadly fakes have become plentiful in the antique sword market. Anyone who follows some of the antique sword Facebook groups can attest to that. Daily posts are made about poorly made forgeries as the real thing for a lucrative profit. Now I have had to defend the authenticity of this sword, but I find that easy to do. These Madonna sabers are often faked in the Eastern European market and originate from Russia and Poland. Most of us can spot the Indian/Chinese garbage that is passed off as genuine quickly. The higher quality of construction out of the Eastern European region does make it more difficult, but it takes some detective work to affirm authenticity.
The knee-jerk reaction that this sword is a forgery is primarily due to its remarkable shape. As I have demonstrated, the illustrations of these Madonna sabers vary widely as they were all hand done and over some 50 years (1760-1811). A strange snippet of history was the 1916 coronation of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor. These swords were produced in abundance to be worn for the ceremony by high-ranking military guests. Though, these swords are all adequately marked by their makers and often sell for a high premium themselves! Pottenstein was long gone by 1916, so that removes that possibility. The depth and style of the inscription of Pottenstein match the other inscriptions, so it is not a later addition. That leaves the case of modern forgeries.
The validation of authenticity:
Having become what could be considered a sword detective, I have learned what to look for with these research projects. This concept is simple: what cannot be faked? Leather. Leather is tough to age uniformly, especially leather on the sheath, as its size will shrink and change. The leather pictured above on the scabbard and grip is in abysmal shape despite being repainted (drops can be seen in the holes in the leather).
Lastly, impossible to picture here is the aging of the wood slats internally to the sheath. They're in deplorable shape and show the requisite aging of more than 200 years.
To Conclude:
As the expert, I contacted at Hermann Historica said, these sabers are a minefield of forgeries. I do not recommend entering this market without an expansive knowledge and buying from a reputable dealer as I did. It is an incredible and elegant saber, though it has me altogether reconsidering how I want to display my collection. My 1796 and 1811 will likely be robbed from their positions to display with their Hungarian grandfather. I will next and soon be making a comparison of the three. I will not be reviewing individually the 1811 or 1796 as they've been overwrought with reviews on the internet.
Special thanks to Uhlan, Pino and Calien for contributing research!
Hope you enjoyed the read!
Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchal_cross#Hungary
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habsburg_Monarchy
localhistories.org/a-brief-history-of-austria/
www.lovasok.hu/index-archive.php?i=15824
www.biographien.ac.at/oebl/oebl_S/Steiner_Melchior_1762_1837.xml
Cut and Thrust Weapons - Wagner
Ungarischer Sabel und Husaren-Pallasch - Frederic Jager