Mounted Artillery Officer’s Eagle Pommel Sabre Sword ca.1805

Description

Here is a wonderful museum-quality eaglehead with a hand-carved checkered ebony grip and a magnificent blade replete with beautifully preserved “peacock” bluing as well as fire-gilt etchings in excellent condition along both sides. This is likely from around 1800-10 or so, and according to the blade decorations-a liberty cap and starred & striped shield-intended for the American market. The crisply detailed pommel transitions into a backstrap, and is of a type not frequently encountered even by serious collectors of early eagle pommel swords. The only other one like this I’ve seen is on page 91 plate 41d in the book “American Swords from the Philip Medicus Collection”, pictured in photos 11-12 in this listing. There is a “Berger Paris” stamp at the ricasso, but this isn’t necessarily a maker’s mark - to my understanding Berger was more in the import/export business, and the sword is likely of British origin. The pictures really don’t do the bluing on the blade justice. It’s absolutely unreal, both in the consistency of the deep blue shade as well as its iridescence.