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Post by bjoker on Aug 10, 2023 13:48:16 GMT
Hi everyone! I would like to help an old friend who has kept this saber for half a century, an old find from when he was a boy. Blade marked S.H.F. Light cavalry officer? Could you help us in the correct identification? Sorry for the bad photos but at the moment I only have these, I will add better ones as soon as we can take them. Would it be worth being able to find a new handle and restore it?
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Post by bjoker on Aug 10, 2023 13:58:41 GMT
This is the preview of another one, also from his ''collection'' of memories. Hussar saber?
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Post by bas on Aug 10, 2023 21:22:11 GMT
The first sabre with the broken hilt is post-Napoleonic, likely the 1830s, the tail end of the Restoration Era. The tell is the blade decorations; the panel with the makers' initials is curved, a change in style from the earlier square panels used by Solingen. Also, the scrolling ornament at the end of the blueing is post-Napoleonic on German-made blades. The leather scabbard makes me think it was for an infantry officer, but we would need to know the blade length for a more educated guess.
As for restoration, the blade appears to be in good condition, so worth mounting on a new hilt if you can find one. What is there isn't really worth saving in my opinion. The way the horn on the grip has been carved doesn't look very French. There is a chance that the sabre belonged to an officer from one of the Italian states, and may be original, but that is outside of my experience.
The second sabre may be an officer variant of the French An XI Light cavalry sabre. This was a universal sabre and intended to be carried by all light cavalry from lancers, hussars, 'hunters on horse', mounted artillery and the transport corps. However I believe the Napoleonic hussar officers tended to retain their own design.
The An XI sabre was retained well into the Restoration era and copied by other nations as well, so dating them without better images of the markings can be challenging. Especially if the scabbard is missing.
Still nice sabres and worth holding on to.
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Post by bjoker on Aug 11, 2023 7:37:36 GMT
Thank you so much for your precious help! you have been very helpful.
So the first one is sltightly more modern than we thought, and indeed you are right, it could have belonged to some Italian officer since it was found in Northern Italy.
regarding the second one, however, it continued to be produced and copied even during the restoration, here.di could be more "recent" too. The blade does not bear the names of the maker, but has several classic engravings among which I remember the Crescent and the stylized image of a Hussar on horseback while charging.He wields the saber and wears the hat-style ushanka.
Could it be Napoleonic thanks to these engravings or were they also used and copied even post period?
As soon as I can I will post some better photos and try to take the measures of both.
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Post by bjoker on Aug 13, 2023 8:51:19 GMT
May I also ask for your opinion on the possible value of the two sabers?
He doesn't want to sell them at the moment, but since he's an elderly person, he wants to leave some notes with the heirs, including the possible value of his collection, just in case.
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