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Waterloo Captured French AN XIII Cuirassier's Sabre (sold)

A spear pointed Napoleonic French AN XIII Cuirassier's sabre dated January 1812 in good condition and with sound provenance it was a battlefield pick-up / trophy from Waterloo.

January 1812 An XIII Cuirassier SabreFrench AN XIII Cuirassier Sabre Waterloo

Sold Item Notice

This good condition spear pointed Napoleonic French AN XIII heavy cavalry sabre was bought by me with another (see: Rare Clipped Point AN XIII) from the same estate. They both had been in a smoking room for 50 years or more, you could tell from the leather smell (stench) and hilt tarnishing, which put them together before such things became collectors items in the modern sense; so the likelihood is they both were acquired together a long time ago. The other sabre could only have come from Waterloo. The neighbour of the deceased estate said the old man claimed the sabres both came from Waterloo, but no-one took much notice of him. Well I do, retrospectively unfortunately.

There is some very minor damage (denting) to the brass hilt in three places which, although unnoticeable unless you look closely, does imply some knocks in field use. The fact this and the other AN XIII both came without scabbards is another indication of a battlefield pick-up / war trophy, as cavalrymen in action would likely drop the sword held in their hand while they, their horse and the scabbard would ride off, if only a short distance; see also AN XIII article. The aging of the blade on this sabre is commensurate with the tarnish on the hilt (which I removed to expose the original brass underneath). The leather grip is in excellent condition for its age helped by the same smoke that tarnished the hilt. Because these sabres were likely displayed in rooms ever since or shortly after they were bought back from Belgium (Waterloo), not kept in a damp attic or cupboard, they are both in very good condition.

This AN XIII was made in January 1812; the Klingenthal inscription along the blade's spine attests to this fact. That means this sabre may well have also seen battle in the so called Russian Campaign when Napoleon marched into Moscow in September 1812, before being badly defeated in the Winter of 1812 (hence the 1812 Overture). The blade shows the correct inspector "poinçons" (inspection stamps) of Jean-François Alpy, Jean-Georges Bick (early stamp version) and François Louis Lobstein (see: Klingenthal Blade Markings and Inspector Markings. It is therefore 100% authentic of course.

image jan 1812 cuirassier an xiii 3

The 96 cm blade is in good condition save for a little pitting near the point one side, and is firm in the hilt. The hilt, grip and wire bindings are all in good order. Further / full sized pictures available upon request.

image jan 1812 cuirassier an xiii 4

image jan 1812 cuirassier an xiii 5

image jan 1812 cuirassier an xiii 6

image jan 1812 cuirassier an xiii 7

 

 

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