Italian, French or Spanish halberd

[ulfberth]

This halberd from first part of the 17th century is probably Italian and could be of the Guards of the city of Florence hence the abundance of lily florentina or fleur de lis. However it could also be French or even Spanish, the type of crown is Ducal but does anybody recognize the initials in combination with the crown ?

[corrado26]

I think that this halberd has nothing to do with Italy or Florence. After "Flaemig, Monogramme auf Münzen, Medaillen Marken Zeichen und Urkunden" this monogram on the blade belongs to Ernst August II. bishop of Brunswick-Lueneburg 1716-1728.

[ulfberth]

Thank you Corrado, that is a very plausible if not spot on.
What boggles me about that is that the halbard style and workmanship does seem 17th c .
That being said , it is also not uncommon to use older styles for longer periods in noble courts or royalty.

[cornelistromp]

the halberd, originally used for the foot soldiers against the horsemen, came back degenerated in the seventeenth century as an ornamental weapon that served as a sign for the under officer. sergeant and corperal
the open-cut ax blade with ajour effects was very common in the northern Netherlands (1580-1660) and can be seen on many "schutter" paintings.
The halberd of post 1 is probably from the middle of the 17th century, for comparison see the somewhat earlier examples in the emden museum. ( picture R carl koppeschaar)

best,
jasper