German Circa 1900 Lionhead Cavalry Officer's Sword
Curved, single-fullered blade, Brass P-shaped stirrup hilt with shield-shaped langets, brass backstrap with lion head pommel cap, grey shagreen grip bound with wire. Steel scabbard painted with gloss black lacquer.
The blade is etched on both sides with multiple stands of arms including armour, swords, axes, banners and drums, surrounded by foliage.
The hilt, langets and backstrap are also cast with details including leaves, oak leaves with acorns, victor’s laurels surrounding a shield, a Maltese cross, a lance and crossed swords (with visible sword knots) behind a shield, and a detailed lion’s head with mane.
Swords like this were privately purchased from a number of different makers during the early 20th century, all following similar design cues such as the lion’s head pommel. It was popular with cavalry and artillery officers and senior NCOs (who were granted the right to carry officer model swords), the branch of service generally indicated by the motif used on the sword’s langets – cannons for the artillery, sabres and/or lances for the cavalry – this example uses sabres & lances indicating the cavalry. Its quite slender blade is probably intended more as a dress or presentation rather than fighting sword, though it has nonetheless been sharpened and the black scabbard is more suggestive of field than parade use.
The blade has sharpening marks, with a frosted appearance and several small nicks along its edge. The tip is slightly bent to one side. The shagreen of the grip is fairly good, with a few scales lost to the midsection where the grip bulges. The wire binding has been mostly lost, however, with only a few loops remaining, and these all loose or broken.
The scabbard has some rubbing to the lacquer and one or two chips. Interestingly the lacquer must have been quite thickly applied, as it has run in places. This may have been applied to comply with changing Army regulations around 1910. The scabbard retains nearly all of its black paint, with some scuffing and light scratches, except at the very tip of the shoe where the paint has rubbed to reveal patinated steel. The scabbard body is free of dents but has some slight kinking along its length – the blade will still fully sheath and draw although with a little scraping due to the bent tip.
