Dragoon Trooper's Sword

Dateabout 1740–1745

Mediumsteel, brass, wood and leather

Dimensions4 × 102.9 × 87 cm (1 9/16 × 40 1/2 × 34 1/4 in.), 2 lb, 14 oz (weight)

ClassificationsArms and Armor

MarkingsObverse of blade below ricasso; deeply stamped "Z" or "7" with what appears to be pearled shield, & a very worn mark appearing to contain indistinct letters written within oval frame (MF?). Obverse of knuckle guard: "ACTA" within recessed rectangular frame just below mid-height. Reverse of quillon, near its base is a worn mark which resembles escutcheon on the cuirass of Duke Albrecht of Brunswick-Bevern (1745), shown in Romer, p. 110, cat. 58. Underside of hilt at blade-end of quillon is stamped open cross of St. Andrew.

Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection

Terms

Object number2014.332

DescriptionSteel double-edge elliptical section blade tapering to spatulate tip. The shoulders of the blade are reinforced by a short, stout ricasso.

Cast brass half-basket hilt resembling Prussian dragoon sword model 1732-35. Three rectangular section branches curving up from integral, filled side ring and engaging curved knuckle-guard that plugs into mouth of crudely carved lion head brass pommel. Intersection of middle bar and the one that diagonally crosses it form a disc accented by thinly cut lines. The upper terminus of the vertical and curved front bars is squared off, set off by three deep grooves, and like that of the knuckle-guard, ends in a short extension which fits into a corresponding hole in the pommel. Short rectangular section rear quillon rounded at corners and end. This is linked to reverse base of knuckle guard by open oval side ring fitted with thumb-ring at mid-width, the intersection set off by incised lines and recessed grooves.

The lion-head pommel is of primitive execution, carved with rather grotesque features and a mane formed of leaf-like patterns. It has an integral, short flaring finial above, on the flat top of which is visible the hammered tang of the blade. There is a short, wide necked base.

Original oval section spiralled wooden grip tapering to the pommel, consisting of a wooden core carved in a spiralled pattern, over which is a thin brown leather casing. It was apparently once bound in wire, but this is now lost.
Label TextThough it is hard to see at first glance, this sword is a very late derivative of the cross-hilted sword of the Middle Ages: it still retains one arm of the cross-hilt, as well as the broad, straight, double-edged blade of the medieval knightly weapon. By the 1700s, most other cavalry troops were using some version of the saber, the curved sword ultimately deriving from Islamic influences in Eastern Europe.ProvenanceArchduke Eugen's Armory, Fortress Hohenwerfen near Salzburg, Austria purchased by John W. Higgins on March 1, 1927 from the Eugen sale at Anderson Galleries (NY), part of lot no. 5. Given to the Museum on July 1, 1954. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.

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