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This little hanger is the final development of the French infantry side arm of the late 18th century. Line regiments carried this throughout the Napoleonic Wars, certainly from the Empire (c 1804) forward; Guard regiments were distinguished by having a leather-hilted version. This is Versailles stamped. The inscription 'Mfture Imple du Klingenthal C[ie?]' peters out in legibility at the end, but it is clearly a Napoleonic piece. The tang has been tinkered with, insomuch as it is partly filled with hard resin or wax and the bright iron of the tang shows through, so my guess is that it has been disassembled at some stage. However, the position of the throat loop is what you would expect for a Napoleonic example; with the Bourbon post-Waterloo pieces, this loop was placed a quarter of an inch higher towards the throat of the scabbard. There are dings and scratches all over the brasswork, to be expected for the age of the piece, and a little verdigris on the bottom chape, but the leather scabbard is in quite remarkable shape, with the seam still intact and the original nap of the leather all present, with typically a few age cracks here and there. My poor photos of the point of the blade are to show it after my careful cleaning - it now looks better than in the full length photos, after I removed some mild corrosion and grease. |