119 - Wehrmacht lion's head sabre for Army officers, oak-leaf hilt and portepee (sword knot), 1933–1945

Wehrmacht lion's head sabre for Army officers, oak-leaf hilt and portepee (sword knot), 1933–1945 Steel, iron, brass, plastic, wire, textile. Lion's head sabre for Army officers with gold-coloured lion's head pommel with red glass eyes, black plastic grip with wire wrap, gold-coloured knuckle bow with oak leaves, backstrap plate with oak leaves and langet with national eagle. Single-edged, bright, curved blade with maker's mark Hörster, slightly stained. Black lacquered iron scabbard with one carrying ring, the lacquer chipped. Portepee (sword knot) for officers, strap silver/black, crown and tassel in silver bullion. L. 107 cm, blade length 85 cm. The lion's head sabre with oak-leaf hilt was not a regulation model but a privately purchased item of personal property, worn from 1933/34 by officers and senior NCOs entitled to the portepee of the Army with the walking-out and parade dress; dimensions, materials and manner of wear were governed by the Army ordinance gazettes and the dress regulations of the Wehrmacht. The blade bears the mark of the arms factory E. & F. Hörster in Solingen, founded in 1850 as Friedrich Hörster, renamed in 1870 after Friedrich Emil and Fritz Hörster and in existence until its insolvency in 1996; its mark is a downward-pointing sword through the intertwined letters “HHS” in an oval. The firm's production ranged from the Prussian infantry officer's sword M 1889 through naval sabres to the daggers, swords and sabres of the Army and Luftwaffe. Lion's head sabres for the Army were also supplied by the Solingen firms Carl Eickhorn, WKC, Alcoso, F. W. Höller, P. D. Lüneschloß, Weyersberg, Puma, Clemen & Jung and C. Lütters & Cie.