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.
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.
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.
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