German Hirschfänger by Alex Coppel, Solingen
Straight unfullered blade with spear point. Brass shell guard, brass hilt with recurved clawlike quillons, ribbed brass ferrule, white grip of smoothed antler set with three brass acorns, ridged brass pommel cap, round tang button. Black leather scabbard with brass fittings at the throat and chape, the throat piece with acorn-shaped frog stud, the chape piece with oval finial. Blade
The blade is stamped at the ricasso on one side with a set of scales and ‘ACS’, indicating the maker Alexander Coppel & Cie of Solingen. The blade is etched on both sides with stands of arms (including a drum, breastplate and helmet) and foliate motifs.
The Hirschfänger (literally, ‘deer catcher’) is a German hunting sword or long knife with a long history dating back to the 17th Century, when it emerged as a specialized offshoot of the Hauswehr (all-purpose domestic knife) which was itself descended from the Germanic seax. Like other hunting swords its purpose was to dispatch game animals, but its small size is probably linked to the development of enclosure hunting in Germany, where rather than chase down prey in open ground hunters would wall off an area with stretched fabric allowing them to easily kill the trapped animals. At close quarters, with other hunters nearby, firearms and longer swords were less practical.
The hirschfänger became emblematic of the huntsman and even as the nature of hunting changed it gained a ceremonial role, presented and worn to show that the bearer was qualified and knowledgeable in the rules of the hunt. Highly decorated examples exist, often incorporating the romantic iconography of the hunt. By the 19th century variations on the design might be carried by hunters, forest rangers, civil servants employed by the forestry department, local rifle associations and off-duty soldiers of the Jäger & Schützen battalions. Whether military or not, these were privately purchased pieces and multiple Solingen manufacturers produced different versions to suit customer demand, resulting in great variation.
