Model "Year IV" Hussar's Saber
Culturehilt perhaps
Austrian
Date1795–1796
Mediumsteel, brass, gold, wood, leather and copper wire
Dimensions95.9 × 81.3 cm (37 3/4 × 32 in.), 2 lb, 3 oz (weight)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
MarkingsNear shoulder obverse with 2 maker's stamps, "B" & "?K", both beneath unidentified devices.
Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Object number2014.331
DescriptionCurving single edge broad steel blade with wide flat back & long false edge. Both faces with wide shallow fuller at back extending into area of false edge. Gilt brass hilt with straight hexagonal section guard, short straight rear quillon with onion-shaped hexagonal terminal & asymmetrical medial langets over blade & grip. "L"-shaped knuckle guard, slightly stirrup-hilted to expanding terminal fitted with fixed loop for swivel of sword knot mount.
Teardrop-shaped modified bird's head pommel with flat button & integral rounded backstrap. Wooden grip tapering to recurving terminal, wrapped in leather & twisted fine copper wire. Hilt possibly Austrian or so modified.
Label TextAfter the declaration of the French Republic in 1792, the republican government promulgated a new calendar in which Year 1 began on September 22 of that year. Early in 1793 the government executed king Louis XVI, and within months France was at war with most of Europe. A huge national army was mustered to preserve the endangered republic, and the notorious Reign of Terror hunted down suspected counterrevolutionaries in 1793-94. The blade of this sword was made at the French national arsenal at Klingenthal, and the two sides bear the inscription "République Française."ProvenanceMacIntosh collection (#14) purchased by the Museum in December 1970. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.
On View
Not on viewCollections
late 1700s-early 1800s
about 1600–1650
