British naval officers 1700's hanger
 

Hi
I just purchased the below hunting hanger at a local auction in rural Ireland

Blade and handle are very solid with no movement at all, feels very much an original purposeful weapon

The blade was very rusty and covered in grime but I cleaned all the active rust off and am pleased with the condition underneath

Overall blade length of 21 inches with fuller on both sides

I think there is the remenants of a passau wolf mark on the blade but this may be wishful thinking, I would welcome any opinions

The handle is in very good condition and the brass is nicely toned

There seems to the heads of three angels or cherubs on the shell guard and a heart with wings which I take to be the sacred heart which is obviously a Christian symbol.

Pictures are poor as it is pouring rain and no natural light but I can try again tomorrow if necessary.

My big question would be could anyone give an approximate age on this hanger

Much appreciated

I have amended title as per information received below

Ken

Fagan arms just sold one very much like this. Can I link to the sold sword mods?

Wow, that was impressive Machinist

Very similar indeed right down to the cherubs

Price is a lot different though from what I paid :)

I now have a search route to find out more, I was looking under German hunting hanger.

I will report back with any findings

Thanks a bunch

Ken

When you link, the picture will eventually disappear. :(
Better to save the picture/s and upload to the database for permanency. :)

Hi All
As per information received I have pasted in the image referred to in Machinist post.
Would anyone have a copy of either the texts referred to in Fagan Arms descriptor of items sold.

The likeness of the two hangers in very strong but I would love more information if possible.

Many thanks

Ken

As stated, an early English hanger circa 1690-1720. The king's head and crown are actually the mark of the Wundes smiths of Germany, who supplied fine blades to the English at this time. Every one of these I've seen marked have that king's head.
Mark

Here's mine, a variant style of the same type of hanger. Although very popular with naval, they were also used by infantry at the time. Note the references I mention in that past thread, if you wish more info and pics of these cool hangers...
Also note in that earlier thread the excellent info from Jim McDougall and Dmitri.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=17233

Hi Mark
Many thanks for the information
Iti is so ironic that I went to the auction to look at what was described as

" 2 old swords"

And found a Tulwar and this hanger, I bought the lot as I liked the Tulwar because it had a flaired blade tip which looked well

Now the hanger, which was of no real interest to me has opened up a whole new avenue of information and study.

What a great hobby!

Best regards

Ken

Yes, you got a great find there! These aren't so common and they fetch huge prices. I was lucky to get mine for a fair price only because it was labeled as a '19th c. German hirshfanger'. These early hangers influenced those later hunting implements. Great find!

Very nice Ken, and I am sure you got the wolf mark right. Certainly looks like it to me anyway.

Best,
Richard.

This is an extremely nice 17th century example of these hunting swords or hangers, which were not only used for hunting, but often carried by officers in various units particularly auxiliary and yeomanry among others. Naturally these are well known in naval service for their ideal size.
It must be remembered that 'hunting swords' were an extremely 'fashionable' weapon, and the reason so commonly interspersed between 'hunting' and 'military' use is that officers were of course gentry, and the hunt was a status oriented event.

As Mark has well noted, the period for this is likely as stated, 1690-1720, which places this nicely in piracy's golden age, arrrgghhhh!!!
I would note that the cherub motif is well described in the fantastic book on British military swords of this period by Stuart Mowbray.

If there is indeed a running wolf on this blade, the potential for this being a Shotley Bridge hanger is heightened as they were producing hangers in this time often using the running wolf. Solingen by this time had somewhat ceased the running wolf, curiously about the time the expatriate Shotley makers were using it.
The running wolf ended with the close of Shotley Bridge early 18thc and was not seen again until Samuel Harvey started using it with his SH initials c,1750.

The Wundes kings head was widely used in Solingen and it seems in equally wide variation as well as number (often in twos, threes and fours).

I recall a wonderful hanger I had (back in the 70s) which had the mark of Wirsberger in the blade and it was of this type with staghorn. Ironically I lost it in a trade to Fagan back then!!!! auughhh!

good catch, ken.

saw that one for auction online, almost bid on it except they did not offer a packing/shipping option and i didn't feel like tackling arranging that myself internationally. kinda damp drive from here to there anyway.

there does seem to be a wolf on the blade in the photos. i see front & real legs, tail, and a very vague head, back line & lower body line.

enlarged & sharpened:

I had forgotten about Shotley Bridge using that running wolf mark, as Jim pointed out. I remembered Harvey and the early Passau wolf mark as we've discussed it on previous threads. I actually had never seen one of these types with the running wolf, most being unmarked or the Wundes king's head.