Lot 79
79
The Property of the Late A.R. DUFTY Esq., F.S.A., formerly Master of the Armouries, H.M. Tower of London
A FINE SILVER-GILT PRESENTATION SMALL-SWORD, SCABBARD AND CASE, with slender blade of hollow ground triangular section etched, blued and gilt throughout its length apart from the tip, the hilt with oval guard and vase-shaped pommel, and cast and chased in relief with ribbon-bound oak leaves, military and naval trophies and, in oval panels, finely modelled figured of Neptune, Hope, Hercules and Britannia, the vellum-covered scabbard with engraved silver-gilt mounts, the case lined in off-white silk and green silk velvet, and covered on the outside with red morocco, in excellent original condition throughout, London silver hallmarks for 1798, maker's mark of Moses Brent

Details
A FINE SILVER-GILT PRESENTATION SMALL-SWORD, SCABBARD AND CASE, with slender blade of hollow ground triangular section etched, blued and gilt throughout its length apart from the tip, the hilt with oval guard and vase-shaped pommel, and cast and chased in relief with ribbon-bound oak leaves, military and naval trophies and, in oval panels, finely modelled figured of Neptune, Hope, Hercules and Britannia, the vellum-covered scabbard with engraved silver-gilt mounts, the case lined in off-white silk and green silk velvet, and covered on the outside with red morocco, in excellent original condition throughout, London silver hallmarks for 1798, maker's mark of Moses Brent
35in. blade
Provenance
Lady Gerard (by direct descent from the recipient)
Acquried from Thomas Lumley, 6 March, 1961 for ¨230
Literature
A.V.B. Norman, The Rapier and Small-Sword 1460-1820, p. 208
Country Life, 5 April, 1962, p. 757, and 25 April, 1963, p. 929
Exhibited
Willmer House Museum, Farnham, April 3-29, 1962, No. 44
The Art of the Armourer, Victoria and Albert Museum, 19 April - 5 May, 1963, No. 131 (illustrated)

Lot Essay

Presented to Captain, later Admiral Thomas Le Marchant Gosselin (1765-1857) in March 1798 by the Masters of the Merchentmen, after he had successfully taken a convoy to the Leeward Islands during the French Wars
Cf. a sword with almost identical hilt made for Admiral Sir William Cornwallis (1744-1819), sold in these Rooms 7 March, 1979, lot 30

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