Maritiem Digitaal
collectie zoeksyteem van de maritieme musea
geen titel
| titel | geen titel
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| inventarisnummer | WPN1339
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| collectie | Edged Weapons
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| museum | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
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| datum | 1702
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| omschrijving | Hunting sword- with a silver knuckle-bow hilt- which is swollen and fretted at its mid-point to depict a scene of two hounds and a stag- all foliated- near the pommel depicting a spray of foliage. The short up-turned quillon has a fretted disc terminal bearing a representation of a human face. The heavy silver pommel has an embossed line round it- a scalloped edge and a base- a human face with flowing hair is superimposed on four stippled panels- two embossed with a stag and two with a hound. The silver ferrule at the top of the grip has an embossed band round- it in imitation of the pommel- and a scalloped edge. There is a stag horn grip. The guard broadens to a thick oval piece where it meets the line of the grip. The oval piece has a fluted edge and a running line of chevrons about the edge.
The slightly curved blade- has a flat back with a broad shallow fuller running the whole length and a narrow- deeper fuller running at the back edge for about two-thirds of the total length from the shoulder. There is no engraving. There is a black leather scabbard sewn down the back (reverse) with a silver locket frog hook and chape all of which are decorated 'en suite' with the hilt. The hook has a human face as does the chape and the locket and the chape have scolloped edges. The silver on sword and scabbard is hallmarked and bears the marks appropriate to London in 1702. The ferrule is not quite in keeping with the rest- it fits badly and has split. The leather of the scabbard is in very good condition and it is very likely that it is a good deal later than the sword through the mounts show every sign of being original. The mounts also show signs of damage- caused perhapes when the original scabbard was dismantled.
This type of sword was popular in the 17th and 18th centuries as a fighting sword at sea because of its robustness and hardness. To some extent- it may be regarded as a forerunner of the cutlass with its short- curved blade. The same shape of the sword was adopted in the army as the hanger for private soldiers. The knuckle-bow is apparently by a different maker from the rest of the hilt. The silver marks on the pommel- the ferrule and the frog hook on the scabbard are apparently the same however.
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| afmetingen | Blade: 470 x 29 mm
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