The model An XI sword was so called because it was designed in the eleventh year of the Revolutionary Calendar (1804). The sword was approved on the 22nd September 1804. Production of the AN XI sword took place from October 1804 until 1816.
Most sabres were produced at the Klingenthal armoury. Klingenthal blades were also sent to the Versailles armoury to be hilted and some rarely encountered sabres, marked AP (L' Atelier De Paris) were purchased from private forges.
The 964mm straight, single edged blade has a flat spine and twin fullers that continue to the spear point. Around 1815-1816, the original hatchet points of these swords were ground to spear points. The blade was made at the Klingenthal factory in March 1811 and bears the Klingenthal inspection stamps of François Louis Lobstein, a Klingenthal inspector since 1804, Claude Marion, inspector from 1808 and Jean Georges Bick, an inspector from 1809. The spine is engraved with the Klingenthal armoury name and manufacture date.
The blade is in very good condition with minimal speckles of pale grey tarnish. Nicks on the edge and spine are consistent with fighting use.
The barred Arco guard is stamped with the Versailles armoury mark and poincons and the “V” meaning verified or passed. The leather wrapped grip is in fair condition with the leather cracked and missing in places. The remaining leather is firmly attached to the cord bound wooden grip.
This is a guaranteed genuine Napoleonic Wars Cuirassiers sword dating from 1811 and has been used by a Cuirassier in Napoleon’s Grand Army.
