International Sword Collectors Association

Sword of the Month:

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Naval Officer Sword, circa 1800

This sword is a c1770 -1823 naval officers sword attributed to the Kingdom of Naples and the Two Sicilies. This nation was one of the nations of the Italian Peninsula prior to the unification of the Italian states in the mid 1800's. The Kingdom of Naples and the Two Sicilies was ruled by King Ferdinando IV from the 1759 until 1825. His rule was interrupted by the Napoleaonic War, when the French placed several rulers (1806 - 1808 Joseph Napoleon, Joachim Murat 1808 - 1815) in his place who governed the Kingdom from 1806 until it was restored after the war by the congress of Vienna in June 1815. The nation was by nature a coastal nation and because of that was a nautical influence in the Mediterranean. This sword is an example of a rare Naval officers' sword from this nation. The hilt style of the sword was common on naval sword of the Napoleonic period, and suggest manufacture between 1790 - 1820. This would place this sword in the middle of the conflict on the Italian Peninsula during the Napoleanic War.

This sword has a gilt brass "D" guard hilt, vary similar to the British Naval Patterns of this period (1812). The grip is ivory or bone that has been carved (grooved) and wrapped with a sigle strand of twisted brass wire. The langets show a naval foul anchor typical of sword of this period. The pommel is molded in the figure of a lion with curiously styled ears. The blade is steel and is a flattened hexagon in cross section (6 sided). The blade is engraved with " VIVA FERDINANDO IV" on one side and "RE DELLE SICILIE VIVA" on the other. The sword is shorter than most sword of this style of this period being 31 inches overall, with a blade of 26 1/4 inches. The blade width at the ricasso is 1 inche. There is no scabbard. Given that the Kingdom only existed for approximately 75 years, makes this sword a rare Napoeleonic war naval item.

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