1800 British EIC Infantry / Bombay Marine Officer's Sword, Sold

Circa 1800, in good to very good condition, a wootz bladed, bone handled East India Company officer's sword, most probably of the Bombay Marine.

The style of the hilt and grip, with the EIC lion's head to the langets, dates this sword to around 1800 and identifies it most likely as a Bombay Marine or possibly EIC infantry officer's sword. The 30 3/4 inch blade is a little longer than the typical 29 inch naval hanger of this era, but we put this down to two reasons; a) the original owner was a big man with huge hands to be able to grasp the enormous bone grip, b) the blade is not British or even European but a high quality Indian wootz steel blade, which was probably acquired rather than made to order.

The blade is stamped "Mayfield". It is very unusual to find officer's swords with stamped blades but this one clearly was made by the Dublin sword cutler firm of Mayfield who, unable to etch their name onto a British made blade, stamped their name onto this Indian quality blade. The blade is exceptional and awesome; it could do a lot of damage, I suspect chop a British made blade in half. There are evident wootz patterns and a forging flaw to the blade; this is a hand made blade. So, I suspect an Irish officer in the Bombay Marine or possibly East India Company Infantry had a blade he prized fitted into a British / EIC pattern hilt with elephant bone grip. This sword has a feel to it well in excess of other swords of the period; it is not something you would like to be on the receiving end of.

The blade is firm in the hilt, the hilt retaining some gilt, the thick bone grip a real handful and pleasure to hold is in very good order; it has grip turns burned into the bone; there are no twisted grip wire bindings and I suspect there never were any. A beauty of a sword and exceptionally rare. Further / full sized images available upon request. Please quote item number C42 (651)