blade mystery

[Jim McDougall]

Thank you Keith!
I found more on the curious mark on the hanger with the wolf and dot and trellis augment in Wallace Collection (Sir James Mann, 1962), p.244.
Apparently this mark is associated with the well known Stantler family of Munich who were established 1455-1647.

Obviously the family had numerous types of marks, and were known to have used spurious markings of various makers, particularly Spanish.

In this case, the glyph with curved upper cross arm as seen on this hanger in cartouche with similar mark appears top have been incorrectly attributed to VERDUN c.1480 by an author named Viollet du Lac ("Armourers Marks", Dudley S. Hawtrey Gyngell, 1959, p.25). The error was then perpetuated (as often the case) bv Z. Lenkiewicz in his "1000 Marks of European Blademakers" (1991).

Mann notes this mistaken attribution (op.cit.p.244) by Viollet du Lac and suggests that the error may owe to the similarity of the device to the double armed 'Cross of Lorraine".

Christoph Stantler II of Munich worked 1607-1636, so quite likely this blade is from this period.

Attached the original entry from Gyngell (note the ? mark)
The entry from Sir James Mann, (1962, p.244. The author in question, du Lac apparently wrote in 1868.

While this detail pertains to a hanger which went to unknown buyer, this information is for the benefit of future research with reference to the markings .