Collection Highlights
Old Christmas : from the Sketch book of Washington Irving
Date:
1878
Object Number:
LIB.PS2069.C4
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Museum Collections
Historical Artifacts
Sword, scabbard and belt: A.W. Spies
Object Number:
1941.1149a-c
Date:
1830-1850
Medium:
Steel, bone; steel, leather, other metal
Dimensions:
Overall: 38 x 5 1/4 x 1 in. ( 96.5 x 13.3 x 2.5 cm )
Marks:
etched: on obverse of blade: "A. W. SPIES" inside scroll-ornamented banner
Description:
Sword with straight, single-edged steel blade with a fuller that extends to within 6 1/2 inches of point and etched designs on obverse and reverse; steel hilt with bone grips carved with linear patterns; ball-molded cross quillons with ball finials and shell-shaped langets on either side; pistol grip pommel with diagonal ribbing, backstrap, and chain extending from tip to finial of quillons below; steel scabbard with two carrying rings with clips and chains attached to a waist belt, which is approximately 1 1/2 inches wide and consists of three strips of leather joined on one side by two metal rings and in the front by an oval buckle with shield-breasted eagle in relief.
Gallery Label:
This sword generally corresponds in style to an example identified as a militia infantry officer's sword in Harold Peterson's "The American Sword, 1775-1945" (pp. 78-79). Our example has white mountings, and, as Peterson notes, white mountings indicate infantry. On the other hand, the blade of our sword is single-edged, while the sword described by Peterson has a blade that is double-edged and diamond-shaped in cross section.
Credit Line:
Gift of John Ward Dunsmore
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
