December 10-13, 2024 Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/10/2024
A rope-tension, field drum with snares for an infantry regiment of the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg from the last quarter of the 18th century, approximately 16 3/4-17 inches high by 15 1/2 to 16 inches in diameter. It consists of a cylindrical body of heavy sheet brass, approximately 13 1/2 inches H, with a large, embossed crest, being the ducal coronet of that electorate over the "running horse" of Brunswick, the latter encircled by a band bearing the motto "NEC ASPERA TERRENT." The body of the drum is affixed by hempen tension cords with leather adjusting tabs to sheepskin heads and wooden rims at top and bottom, each rim being 2 inches wide and painted in an alternating triangular pattern of blue and the units facing color red, white, yellow, etc.), in this case, white-- blue being the body color of Brunswick uniform coats. The better part of the Brunswick troops were hired to Britain and sent to North America as the Brunswick Corps during 1776, including the Regiment von Specht, which had blue coats with white facings. Most of the Brunswick Corps surrendered at Saratoga in 1777 and at least two captured drums from other Brunswick regiments are now in museum collections in the USA. The Brunswick Corps was reraised in America the following year from the troops still in service, augmented by large cadres of recruits from Germany, and also by a score of Brunswick soldiers who escaped captivity and made their way to New York. New arms, accoutrement and other equipage, including drums, were sent out by the Duke to replace those earlier captured and when the Corps returned to Europe at the close of 1783, this equipment did likewise. This drum, although of the right time period, correct color schema and form that was likely carried by the Regiment von Specht, cannot presently proven to be a drum of that unit, but few other Brunswick regiments had white facings. Provenance: deaccessioned from the collections of the Royal House of Hanover and sold by Sotheby's, October 2005.