MILITARY OFFICER'S SMALLSWORD C.1700, PROBABLY SAXON

Brass hilt of heavy fighting proportions with asymmetrical thickened edge shell guards. The elements decorated with matching diamond motifs. Good brass wire wrapped grip. 30‰۝ thrusting blade. The forte inlaid with brass foliage and grape clusters and followed by a deep fuller with pierced key motifs, flanked by double narrow fullers. The balance of the blade of diamond section. Complete and excellent with uniform aging and oxidation as expected. This form is specific to the 1700 period and represents a transition from the rapier to the smallsword in response to the changing fighting technique which sacrificed some weight for agility. The iconic Marlborough swords which served the English in the War of Spanish succession are examples of this step in the evolution of the sword. Saxony under the Holy Roman Empire was part of The Grand Alliance which fought the Bourbon Alliance to keep Spain independent from France. The French alliance would have dramatically changed the power balance of power between the principal European powers. This sword very likely served an officer of the Grand Alliance against the French and Bourbon Spanish alliance.