200 - France, Restoration Period (1814–1830).

France, Restoration Period (1814–1830). A rare and beautiful sword of a Peer of France, signed “S & K” for Schnitzler Kirchbaum in Solingen. Gilded cast brass mountings, with a cross-shaped pommel featuring a joint arch decorated with acanthus leaves and topped by a lion’s head. Wooden tang with mother-of-pearl inlays, adorned on the front with a gilded brass motif featuring a chiseled profile of a helmeted Athena stamped with a fleur-de-lis. The crossguard is fluted at the ends and adorned with a central cartouche featuring a fleur-de-lis. The crosspiece is decorated with stylized laurel branches; the royal initials “L” for Louis XVIII or “C” for Charles X on the body knot have been hammered out and removed (it is therefore impossible to date the sword precisely to either 1814–1824 under Louis XVIII or 1824–1830 under Charles X). Straight quillon ending in a palmette. Kidney-shaped guard bearing the great coat of arms of France, encircled by the scepter and the hand of justice, flanked by cornucopias and foliage. A small medallion depicting Saint Michael slaying the dragon, set upon four flags at the junction of the two horns. Beautiful three-edged blade, blued and gilded, and chiseled with trophies of arms and floral motifs in the middle third; it is signed by the cutler “S & K” for Schnitzler Kirchbaum in Solingen within a gilded cartouche at the heel. Beautiful stingray leather scabbard with two gilded cast brass fittings; the pommel features a button shaped like an antique helmet. 88 cm (Blade 74 cm). (Signs of wear and minor cosmetic imperfections; some play in the mount; the scabbard is not complete; in its original condition upon discovery, never previously part of a collection; in good condition). Note: During the Restoration (1814–1830), the Peers of France were members of the Chamber of Peers, the upper house of Parliament created by the Charter of 1814 to replace the Imperial Senate. They were appointed directly by the king (Louis XVIII and then Charles X). They sat at the Palais du Luxembourg in Paris. They played a legislative role, passing laws alongside the Chamber of Deputies. They also played a judicial role in adjudicating crimes of treason and attacks against state security.