Hussar officer's saber, Austria, circa 1790.

saber length 1007 mm, blade length 870 mm, blade width at base 29.5 mm, back thickness at base 9 mm, saber weight 615 g

Hand closed, brass frame, gilded. The hilt is straight, with a bail. The rear arm curled into a volute towards the head. The front one refracted at a right angle, forming a bail expanding towards the head. Wooden shaft, densely cannelled, covered with black leather and laced with brass filigree. A long cap reaching the hilt with a head in the form of a stylized lion's head, bottom fastened in the socket of the hilt's back arm. The top riveted on an oval pad with a head pin. Head of steel, polished, with moderate curvature. Profiled on both sides into a single, wide dorsal groove reaching a short, double-edged feather. The hilt in line with the ridge. At the height of the haft, the head rustled, etched decoration in the form of floral tendrils and panoplies.
state of preservation: 4+/4
provenance: auction house Fischer, Switzerland, auction 2004, item 273