German Circa 1910 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 many 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.
The shagreen 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 blade has a frosted appearance, marks from sharpening and several small nicks along its edge. 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.
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. Its quite slender blade is probably intended 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.