English Child’s Spadroon Sword, ca. 1800

Description

The spadroon was a small light-weight sword with a straight cut-and-thrust blade that
became popular with officers and gentlemen in England in the late 18th C. It’s popularity
extended also to the US and France, countries which tended to share their sword designs.
It was also the custom for children of the nobility who were to be trained for military
service to be provided with smaller versions of the swords carried by their adult
counterparts. This example features a gilt cast brass hilt with double scroll quillons, partial
pas d’ane, fluted rectangular-section grip and urn-shaped pommel. The knuckle guard,
which would have extended from the quillon block into a hole in the pommel, is missing.
Straight unmarked double-edged 21″ blade of flattened diamond-section with small flat
ricasso. Sword shows considerable age and wear and the parts of the hilt are somewhat
loose. It would appear that at some time the sword was taken apart and re-assembled
because the hole in the pommel which would have received the knuckle bow finial is now
on the opposite side. Blade is dark with age, lightly pitted, and shows signs of use and
repeated sharpening. About 80% of the gilding remains on the hilt. Overall length 27 ½”.
Excellent starter piece for a young beginning collector.