An iconic Napoleonic Wars period 1796 Light Cavalry Sabre. Scarce variant with lanyard attachment on the grip collar.
The 820mm curved blade has a flat spine and wide, shallow fuller and terminates in a hatchet point. The blade has been repeatedly sharpened and retains a fighting edge. There are a few minor edge nicks but the blade is in overall very good condition with just a few small areas of tarnish and shallow scratches along its length.
The steel stirrup hilt has an unusual grip collar that incorporates a rectangular lanyard/sword knot attachment. This is a scarce variant. The languets have been removed from the hilt. This was sometimes done to reduce uniform wear but could also happened during combat. The faceted stirrup guard is without a lanyard hole. The steel is bright and in good condition with a mild age patina and shallow pitting. The ridged wooden grip retains its leather wrap and twisted wire with excellent use-related wear. There is a small and stable split in the wooden grip and evidence of a repair to the grip near the pommel. The grip remains in overall good condition and is strong and without movement. The wear and slight damage to the grip, coupled with the sharpening wear to the blade indicates that this sword spent a lot of time in the owner’s hand. The blade is firm in the hilt.
The sabre is complete with its steel scabbard, which is in overall good condition with spur dents to the lower section and shallow pitting along its length.
The sword sheaths and draws smoothly and is held nicely within the scabbard.
There are no maker’s marks on the sabre or scabbard but the split suspension rings on the scabbard suggest that the maker might have been Gill of Birmingham.
Overall, this is a nice example of a Napoleonic period light cavalry sabre with a scarce variation for attaching a lanyard or sword knot.
