May 27, 2020 Founders & Patriots
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/27/2020
This horseman's saber is a form appears to have been produced as early as the French & Indian War and through the Revolutionary period by some currently unidentified sword cutler in New England, probably from coastal Massachusetts or New Hampshire, based on where most surviving examples have been located. All swords by this hand share the same, heavy brass, slotted guard pattern with two side branches and enlongated quillon, as well as a spiral-grooved wooden grip (usually of cherry, as in this example), with a 2-strand, twisted brass wire set in the grooves (missing in this example). It has an imported, Spanish-made, 3-fullered blade of 33 in. L x 1 ½ in. W at ricasso. The inner face of the quillon bears the engraved nitials "D L"--probably those of its original owner, the two letters separated by a 5-lobed leaf, a form of engraving that has been attributed to Newbury, Massachusetts by the author of "For Liberty I Live." The pommel features a cast-brass, well-delineated “grotesque” lion-head. Other examples by this maker are known with etched blades, including “God Bless the Province of New York” and “God Bless the Province of Massachusetts Bay.” A highly desirable arm and superb example of American utilitarian folk art from the Revolutionary War era. CONDITION: very good overall, with a nice, mellow grey patina to the blade and a dull brownish-bronze caste to the hilt mounting, the blade with some random, small patches of surface pitting and a few slight nicks or dings. JLK
Illustrated and discussed on pp. 142-143 of "For Liberty I Live."