November 15 & 16, 2022 Extraordinary Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/15/2022
Illustrated on page 603, Volume II of American Silver-Hilted, Revolutionary and Early Federal Swords, by Hartzler, this Federal period cockade has a 3 - 3/4" red, blue, red silk cockade, from which depend two red silk ribbons roughly 7/8" wide and 4 - 1/2" long. Fixed at center is a white metal, long-necked eagle with raised wings, looking to the viewer's left, perched on a leafy branch. The omission of white in the cockade likely represents the waning American sympathy for France in the 1790s, which had adopted the red, white and blue cockade, and Federalist sympathy for Britain, though retaining the urge for something uniquely American. The addition of the silver eagle seems to have been part of the answer, with it showing up on American military cockades about 1798. CONDITION: Very good. Muted colors, light wear and fraying to the outer edges of the cockade and ribbons. A very scarce piece from the early Republic. See also Bazelon's monograph on American cockades appended to Volume 2 of his Directory of American Military Goods Dealers.
Item Dimensions: 12" X 8 - 1/2"