[Seeker]

Looking more carefully than before at this smallsword I recently inherited from a friend, I noticed letters molded into the edge of the guard on the hilt. They spell out "Je Maintiendrai," meaning "I will maintain," which is the motto of the Dutch House of Orange-Nassau. And sure enough, the hilt also bears that house's coat of arms: two crowned, forward-facing lions supporting a shield bearing a lion wielding a sword, and beneath a larger crown. The grip is mother-of-pearl and I believe the brass hilt is, or at least was, gilded. I understand that the sword is probably 18th century, when the House of Orange-Nassau controlled much of what is now Germany as well. The utilitarian scabbard was made for me by a friend.