18th C. American Steel & Brass Officer's Saber w/ Eagle

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Exceptional Day 2: Pre-Columbian & Tribal Art...

By Artemis Gallery

Oct 3, 2019

Set Reminder 2019-10-03 10:00:00 2019-10-03 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Day 2: Pre-Columbian & Tribal Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-day-2-pre-columbian-tribal-art-4453
Day 2 of an important 2-day auction featuring exceptional, museum-worthy examples of Pre-Columbian from the ancient Americas, Native American, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Spanish Colonial and fossils. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  United States, Early Republic to Antebellum Period, ca. late 18th to first half of the 19th century CE. A forged-steel officer's saber with a hand-carved wooden handle secured on a lengthy tang, a slender brass hand guard, and a mold-cast brass finial in the form of a regal eagle head. The crescent-shaped blade has a thick spine, a shallow fuller that courses three-quarters of the way down the blade, a sharpened edge, and a pointed tip. Sabers like this example were common among volunteer officers and militia members of early American military forces and were a soldier's last means of defense when their ammunition reserves ran out; those with eagle-head embellishments were typically reserved for upper officer ranks. Size: 4.125" W x 33" H (10.5 cm x 83.8 cm); length of blade: 27.8" L (70.6 cm).
  
  Sabers like this example were plentiful among the battlefields of early America and were a soldier's most basic yet effective means of saving his own life or ending that of a foe. According to author Harvey J. S. Withers, "A common weapon of the post-Revolutionary War period was the American "Eagle Pommel Sword." During the war, other forms were also used for the pommel, including horses', dogs', and lions' heads. The variety of hilt and pommel types produced by American sword makers is numerous, and they were manufactured in silver, brass, and iron, with grips of ivory, horn, wood and leather. They also differed widely in terms of quality and construction, reflecting the challenging conditions and the scarcity of basic materials. The sword makers were usually imitating British and continental sword styles of the period…[that could] be differentiated as typically "American." Conversely, there were also many American-made swords of this period that exhibited excellent workmanship." (Withers, Harvey J. S. "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Sword and Sabres." Anness Publishing Ltd., London, 2010, p. 63)
  
  Provenance: private Glorieta, New Mexico, USA collection, collected in San Antonio, Texas, USA
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  #149238

  Condition

  Slight bending to overall form of blade, minor loosening to handle and eagle head finial, areas of minor encrustations to blade, and a couple of stable fissures to handle, otherwise intact and very good. Nice patina throughout.
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