An Extremely Rare North Italian Arquebusier's Auxiliary Armament Saber, ca. 1510-15

[Matchlock]

I posted this as part of my thread on 15th and 16th c. Italian edged weapons but am afraid that it might have been overlooked among the flood of material provided there, so here it is in a thread of its own.

It has been in my collection for seven years. No other similar saber is known in any museum or private collection.


Ca. 1510-15, retaining natural staghorn grips (maybe a working time replacement) fixed by iron tubular rivets and the single edged blade preserved in its original length but reduced somewhat in width by long and heavy use, the tip double edged; the overall length of the saber is 94 cm. This one may well have seen service at the famous Battle of Pavia in 1525.

Note that the rare trefoil pommel is not riveted but copper soldered to the tang which, together with the two piece staghorn grips fixed with tubular rivets, denotes that this light saber is characteristic cutlery work, just like a Grosses Messer or Seitenwehr (Kurzwehr) - does anyone know the English term - Cornelis?

The item is preserved in virtually 'untouched' condition throughout; the blade is partially pitted and jagged, the hilt retains much of its original blackened surface and is pitted. After I applied olive oil to the iron surfaces (the contemporary so-called tree oil used in armories for hundreds of years) the rust turned to a bluey black which, interestingly enough and according to my experience, is absolutely typical of all ironwork surfaces between roughly ca. 1480 and 1540.

This piece goes perfectly together with my four early 16th century Landsknecht matchlock arquebuses to which it also closely corresponds in its overall length of 94 cm.


Best,
Michael