North European Broadsword, ca. 1630

Description

Iron hilt formed of flat bars and comprising asymmetrical side rings, each filled with a plate pierced with round holes in rosette patterns; vertically recurved quillons. Original wood grip (split, but sound), lacking wire wrap, but retaining copper Turks heads top and bottom. Flattened heart-shaped pommel with button (button chipped). Unmarked double-edged 32” (81.3 cm) blade of flattened diamond section. Iron parts pitted with rust patina. Overall length 38” (96.5 cm). Sword of the type carried by Protestant troops during the Thirty Years War, a particularly brutal conflict that ravaged Central Europe and inflicted an estimated 4.5 to 8 million military and civilian deaths.