200.000 - 300.000 EUR

Arms & Armour

designer

Kolbe

artist

Kolbe

period

1810s

materials

Gold, agate stone, Damascus steel, wood, shagreen, silver-plated metal, silk

dimensions

Blade W. 6 cm. Case L. 94 cm. N H. 3.7 cm - l. 3.2 cm.

condition

Sabre in perfect condition. Case in good condition, some wear, lower lid with damage in the middle, some re-gluing.

culture

Austrian

Gold sabre by the Austrian maker Kolbe, bearing the Emperor Napoleon's cipher, First Empire, circa 1810. Hilt made of gold in three shades: yellow, green, and rose, with raised areas polished with agate stone and an amatis background. The guard is of the «Blücher» style (German form with the upper part of the guard projecting outward), decorated with an interlacing ribbon and a laurel branch, with a fine beaded molding framing it. The knuckle guard features oval medallions on each side, one with the profile of Athena on the front and the other with a helmeted warrior on the back, each surrounded by a smooth ribbon of laurel branches and scrolls. The quillon is straight, ending in a flower. The grip is monolithic, shaped as an eagle's head, with oak and laurel branches encircling its neck. The curved Damascus blade features two fuller grooves on the front face and three on the reverse, and is richly decorated on three-quarters of its length with inscriptions in an oriental style in gold letters and silver fillets. Wooden scabbard covered with fine black shagreen, featuring three gold fittings, all hallmarked. The chape is designed as a long acanthus stem, around which a serpent coils, framed by a series of flat, beaded moldings, with the outer molding decorated with pennant leaves. It is signed at the top under the passage of the rear knuckle guard «Kolbe a Vienne»; the decoration is identical on both sides. The central fitting displays a medallion with the head of Medusa surrounded by corollas of foliage and acanthus leaves on the front; the back of the medallion is adorned with a rotating rosette and more foliage and acanthus leaves, with framing moldings identical to those of the chape. The bottom of the scabbard is decorated with a caduceus and acanthus leaves at the base, featuring a gold tip and mouthpiece, with framing moldings identical to those of the chape. The transport case consists of two parts, made of wood covered with black lacquered paper, fastened with nine silver-plated metal clasps. The two lids are lined with black silk, and the interior edges are trimmed with a small braided silver passementerie ribbon. The upper lid is decorated at the top near the hilt of the sabre with an «N» surmounted by a cut and engraved iron crown in silver.