Maritiem Digitaal
collectie zoeksyteem van de maritieme musea
geen titel
| titel | geen titel
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| inventarisnummer | WPN1271
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| collectie | Edged Weapons
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| museum | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
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| datum | probably late 18th century
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| omschrijving | Dirk alleged to have belonged to Lieutenant John Samuel Smith (died circa 1840). The hilt of the dirk consists of short- inversed- steel quillons- and a flat-topped steel pommel. The pommel is fitted over the top of the grip with the tang protruding about 8mm. The tang button is now missing and there is some indication that a ferrule was once fitted at the top of the grip near the guard. The dark brown grip is spirally bound with a thin strip of silver.
The steel blade is straight- double-edged with a fuller 157mm long on each side. Although the blade has a nearly uniform taper- it has a rough appearance particularly at its edges. There is extensive evidence of the blade having been rather clumsily ground. The obverse of the blade is engraved with 'S HAGVM'. The reverse of the blade is engraved 'SA (?) HAGVM'. The brown leather scabbard is sewn into a short point and has two steel lockets. The top locket is decorated with horizontal lines and is fitted with a frog button at its tip. The mid locket is similarly decorated and is fitted with a small steel loop on its trailing edge- which is to take a suspension ring. No chape is fitted. The proportions of the scabbard are strongly indicative that it has been shortened.
The appearance of both the dirk and the scabbard leads to the conclusion that this weapon was originally a full sized sword- which was broken and then furnished with a new point and a new hilt. The position of the ring on the mid locket is entirely unsuitable for its suspension as it is far too close to the point of the scabbard. Similarly- the condition of the blade points to amateur restyling. The provision for and absence of a ferrule may be a further indication of the change of use.
The engraving on the blade suggests that a member of the Sahagun Family in Toledo made the original blade in the 18th century. However- the Sahagun Family had their own marks- which do not appear on this blade. The name Sahagun is also spelt incorrectly with 'SAHAGVM' for Sahagun. It may be safely assumed that the blade is copy of a Sahagun blade- the appearance of that name being either an attempted attribution to a master cutler or an indication of a style of blade made famous by that master. This is all purely speculative but the similarity between 'SAHAGVM' and Sahagun is too strong to be ignored.
The Royal United Service Institute state that the dirk is 'alleged to have belonged to Midshipman John Samuel Smith'. Whilst there is no evidence of his having owned the dirk- Lieutenant John Samuel Smith (died circa 1840) is worthy of mention as the date of his service loosely coincides with the date that the dirk was made. Lieutenant John Samuel Smith (died circa 1840) probably joined the Royal Navy at the end of the 18th century. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on the 8th August 1806- but proved to be an unsatisfactory officer. In 1807- he was charged with 'disobedience of orders & neglect of duty- & of scandalous & fraudulent behaviour unbecoming the character of an officer' and court-martialled. He- therefore- never rose above the rank of Lieutenant.
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| afmetingen | Blade: 321 x 29 mm
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