78 - Saxon cavalry sabre M 1892 with crown-of-rue arms, unit marking and scabbard, circa 1900

Saxon cavalry sabre M 1892 with crown-of-rue arms, unit marking and scabbard, circa 1900 Saxon cavalry sabre M 1892. Silver-coloured, fixed bow hilt, the knuckle bow merging into a pierced, heart-shaped oval hilt plate with the crowned Saxon crown-of-rue shield in a laurel wreath, on the reverse a short thumb loop; dark brown, transversely ribbed grip with silver-coloured grip cap, at the blade root an orange-red felt buffer washer. Slightly curved back-edged blade with narrow fuller, punched “D” at the root. On the hilt plate the unit marking “K.E.79.E.”. Black lacquered steel scabbard with one movable carrying ring. Bow hilt bent in on the left side, blade stained with rust pitting, scabbard lacquer with chips and scratches. Condition commensurate with age. L. 96 cm, blade length 78 cm. The Kingdom of Saxony did not adopt the cavalry sword with folding basket hilt introduced in Prussia in 1889, but in 1892 gave its cavalry its own other ranks' sabre with fixed hilt and state arms; the rearmament of the active regiments was completed in 1893, and from then on all Saxon cavalry regiments carried the sabre, known as KS 92 for short, with the back-edged blade of identical form. In 1898 blade and scabbard were shortened and the lower ring band of the scabbard removed; the blade length was thereby reduced from 87.5 to 78.5 cm. The shield barry of ten of black and gold with the green crown of rue goes back to the Ascanian dukes of Saxony and was the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Saxony. Unit markings assign a store weapon to the unit in whose inventory it was held and name the unit, sub-unit and weapon number. The sabre, the helmet of the Carabinier Regiment (2nd Heavy Regiment) in Borna (lot 77) and the presentation sabre that the officers' corps of this regiment dedicated in 1913 to Wachtmeister (sergeant major) Leonhardt on his 25th service anniversary (lot 79) come from the same wearer. The Wachtmeister was the grandfather of the journalist Rudolf Walter Leonhardt (1921–2003), head of the Feuilleton (arts section) and deputy editor-in-chief of Die Zeit; his family lived in Borna. Literature: Kurt Klein, Von Deutschland nach Deutschland. Briefe aus der „Ostzone“ 1947–1985 an Rudolf Walter Leonhardt, Bad Münder 1998, pp. 136–141.