European Military Patterns- Ethnographic or not?

[Paul Digard]

Here's some pics to illustrate blurring of the boundaries between early C19 regulation British military swords and ethnographic weaponry. Evidence of information flows both ways!

Top to bottom:

1) A rehilted (and reshaped at the point) P1796 light cavalry blade. The blade is unquestionably such as it still has the maker's name of WOOLEY SARGANT and CRANE (c1818-20) and its government inspection stamps.

2) A P1803 grenadier officer's sword. The hilt is the regulation pattern with a GR cypher in the knucklebow but the blade is what I would call a shamshir. I've no reason to think it's a dealer's fantasy put together in recent years as although the scabbard is unfortunately broken, enough survives to show that it fits quite well.

3) A late Georgian cavalry officer's mameluke sabre. This one has no markings at all that I can find but I've seen twins marked to London and Dublin cutlers so i think it's of entirely British manufacture. Clearly inspired by non-European sources though!

Paul