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(page
33)
 62.
COURT SWORD French, 1760
Hilt steel carved in low
relief with various figures,
Neptune, nymph, dolphin,
rococo scrolls, flowers
and foliage against stippled
gold background. Pas
d'âne functional.
Guard bilobate, ornamented
with epic scenes. Grip
rounded rectangular, with
pronounced taper, of silver
wire: (a) flat metal strip
wound with fine wire,
(b) (e) braided wire,
(c) (d) wire- wound wire.
Blade three-edged; at base
gilded panel and etched
trophy against hatched
background; above this,
forte blued and gilded
over etching of floral
scrolls; on left, figure
of Hercules in cartouche.
Scabbard of black velvet
over wood; mountings en
suite with, front, Minerva;
back, flower in scrolled
medallion.
L.1554
L. 99 (82) Wt.
383
Plate XLVIII Lent by Gouverneur
Morris, 1916
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  63.
COURT SWORD French, 1760
Hilt steel with decoration
in gold damascene slightly
raised, representing numerous
subjects from La Fontaine's
fables - the only instance,
it is believed, of such
decorative motifs appearing
upon a sword. Guard:
(1) Animals are without
a king, the crown will
fit none of them; monkey
puts on crown and wears
it around his waist until
fox lures him into trap
with a story of treasure;
whereupon animals decide
that "few a crown would
fit." (2) Ape gives advice
to young lion king to
subordinate his self-will
and vanity to the good
of the state, illustrating
his advice by stories
of two asses flattering
one another. (3) Eagle
and owl make a treaty
whereby each should spare
the offspring of the other;
owl describes her young
ones as beautiful; so
eagle eats them one day,
not recognizing them as
owl's. (a.) Mouse, meeting
cat and cock in company,
runs away trembling upon
hearing the latter crow.
His mother later informs
him that for all his noise
cock is harmless, while
sleek good-natured cat
is his deadliest foe.
Ricasso, left, fox, crow
and cheese; right, frog
persuades friendly rat
to visit his home under
water. Since the latter
could not swim, frog ties
himself to his leg and,
pulling him below the
surface, was about to
drown him when kite seizes
rat and frog, bearing
off both together. Pas
d'âne with nail-head
ornament. Quillon and
knuckle guard with leaf
and flower motifs; at
center of latter, crow
as noted; right, dog who
drops his bone to seize
the reflection in the
brook. Pommel, fox and
stork: left, fox invites
stork to dinner and serves
it in a small shallow
dish; right, stork returning
the courtesy serves the
fox with supper in tall
narrow-necked vase. (page
34) Square, ovoid
grip of silver wire: (a)
two strands twisted wire-wound
wire, (b) fine twisted
wire, (c) two strands
medium twisted wire, (d)
same as (b); (b) (c) (d)
oxidized. Blade three-edged,
colechimarde; decorated
with gilded and etched
panels) including scrolls,
strapwork, cross-hatched
background, trophies.
26.145.329 L.
100 (83.5) Wt.
489
Plate XLIX Reubell Benefaction
Bibliography: La Fontaine
(Tr. by Walter Thornburg.
Ill, by Gustav Doré).
London and New York, n.
d. Guard: (1) p. 335;
(2) p. 733; (3) p. 308.
Ricasso, left, p. 5. Knuckle
guard, right, p. 360.
Pommel, p. 75. La Fontaine
(Tr. by Elizur Wright,
Jr.). Boston, 1842, vol.
VI, pp 5, 163.
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 64.
DRESS SWORD French, 1765
Hilt of russet steel,
enriched with gold in
design of flowering plants,
tendrils, and trophied
medallions these in line
- and surface-damascene
in slight relief. Grip
of (a) heavy twisted silvered
wire, (b) crinkled russet
tinsel, (c) same as (a),
(d) concave russet tinsel
with small gold rosette,
(e) fine braided silvered
wire.
Blade three-edged; forte
blued, gilded over etched
trophies and scrolls.
On left, in cartouche,
inscribed: L'HONNEUR ME
FAIT SERVIR. Base of blade
etched with strapwork
against hatched background
and heavily gilded.
26.145.333 L.
94 (77)
Wt. 390
Plate L Reubell Benefaction
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65.
DRESS SWORD French (Paris),
1768
Hilt silver chiseled in
low relief and ajouré;
ornaments include flowers,
doves, quivers, trophies,
medallions. Grip of metal
en suite. On left anterior
pas d'âne three marks:
Paris date stamp 1768;
discharge mark of Inspector
Jean Jacques Prevost (1762-1768);
probably maker's mark,
possibly of Blaire Meunier,
rue de la Fromagerie.
On left base of grip mark
apparently of another
maker (Gabriel Marguerite,
rue Quincampoix?). Stamp
of Bureau of Paris (ET)
also appears.
Blade three-edged, on forte
blued and gilded over
etching of trophies and
conventional scrolls.
26.145.276
L. 95.5 (81.5) Wt.
365
Note: This sword suggests
in its ajouré treatment
a survival of the Neapolitan-Spanish
manner, shown for example
in Nos. 24-2 5, though
in type of ornament it
is obviously Louis XV.
Plate L Reubell Benefaction
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(page
35)
This and the following
two numbers may be described
as in "the Rhine torsade
manner."
  66.
DRESS SWORD Strasbourg,
1750-1770
Hilt of silver chased
en torsade. Guard
chased with fine (many)
lines radiating from center
toward edges, bulging
anteriorly and posteriorly;
borders partly plain,
partly chiseled en
torsade. Flattened
grip of metal en suite.
Pommel slightly globose,
flattened. On right anterior
pas d'âne undetermined
hail mark, IFS or IES
in rectangle between two
fleurs-de-lis (?) (cf.
No. 50).
Blade double-edged with
median flattening; ovoid
at base, and here, etched
and gilded in cartouche,
trophy, scrolls, and strapwork
against hatched background;
above this etched arabesques,
strapwork, amorino with
heart suspended as plummet
- gilt in the lines; inscription:
PEINE INNUTILE; also on
each side two short wavy
lines gilded over etching.
26.145.351
L. 94.5 (78.5) Wt.
424
Plate LI Reubell Benefaction
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67.
DRESS SWORD Dutch, 1750-1775
Hilt silver chased with
parallel lines en torsade.
Guard of irregular shape
with pointed anterior
lobe which forks at the
tip and spans the quillon.
Double quillon. Grip of
white porcelain decorated
in low relief with rococo
scrolls and painted medallions:
man, women and children,
basket of flowers, trees,
distant landscape. On
knuckle guard hall marks:
(1) Amsterdam town mark;
(2) unidentified maker's
mark; (3) swan (?).
Blade short, double-edged,
with median flattening;
panel at base etched and
gilded in strapwork, palmette,
medallions with classical
busts against hatched
background; above this,
etching en suite.
26.145.343
L. 89 (73) Wt.
434
Plate LI Reubell Benefaction
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