Item Description
Original Item: Only One Available. This is a beautiful classic Lionhead German WWI Artillery Officer's sword. The all brass alloy hilt consists of a finely detailed lion head cat with red ruby eyes with floral backstrap and "P" guard. Nicely detailed throughout his whiskers, chin, muzzle, and especially the Lion's Mane. The handwork is beautifully rendered throughout this brass. The "P" guard has crossed swords on one side, and a shield surrounded by oak leaves on the opposite. The grip ferrule has a floral pattern as well. The rain chappe on one side bears crossed swords indicating Cavalry.
The grip is sharkskin wrapped over a wood base, and definitely has seen some wear over the years. The grip has worn down to the wood on over 50% of the surface. It is wrapped with three strands of twisted wire, which show wear and oxidation, but are still tightly wrapped.
The 32 ½ inch blade of this sword is in good condition, and only shows light any signs of use or abuse, mostly along the edge. The tip does look to have suffered some type of damage, and then was reprofiled. These were originally intended ceremonial swords, and not really intended for cutting. The blade has a worn nickel plated finish, with a floral design throughout running half way up the blade. There is a heavy amount of runner wear and normal wear to the blade.
The reverse ricasso of the blade under the langet is marked with "Crowned Z Shield" trademark of Clemen & Jung Waffenfabrik (Weapons Factory) of Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in the mountains of Western Germany. Unfortunately due to the angle there is no way for us to photograph this, and it is also partly obscured by rust. However it is also marked on the top of the guard with the trademark logo, over GESCHÜTZ MUSTER, indicating that it is a protected design.
This company was founded in 1860, and rapidly gained numerous domestic and foreign contracts for edged weapons. They entered the Solingen Commercial Register in 1876, and in 1898 registered the "Crowned Shield" logo, which has the letter Z inside the shield. This previously had been another maker's trademark, but it was transferred to Clemen & Jung. The company supplied many edged weapons for the First World War, and continued during the interwar period, and into the Third Reich period. For more information please see GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS by J. Anthony Carter, pages 132-134.
The scabbard is in rough shape and shows very heavy oxidation and wear. Officer’s in the Imperial German Army still carried their swords into the field during WWI, which most likely resulted in this type of wear and damage. There is a bit of a bend to the scabbard and some small dents, which do not interfere with sheathing the blade.
Overall a very good condition high quality Imperial German Officer’s Sword by a well-known Solingen maker. Ready to hang on the wall!
Specifications:
Blade Length: 29 3/4"
Overall length: 35 1/8”
Handguard: 4" W x 4 3/4"L
Scabbard Length: 31”
- This product is available for international shipping.
- Eligible for all payments - Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, Paypal & Sezzle
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