AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN SWORDS 135 



front of the upper portion is decorated with sprays of pahn and 

 laureL This sword was transferred from the War Department to 

 the National Museum in 1920. 



GERMAN SWORDS 



The German swords in the National Museum collection are more 

 remarkable for their strength and solidarity than for their beauty of 

 design. The swords of Germany have varied less in design during 

 the period of the nineteenth century than have those of any other 

 country represented in the collection, 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY HUNTING SWORD 



The German series begins with a short hunting sword ^^ belonging 

 to the Alfred F. Hopkins collection. It has a very broad blade deco- 

 rated on each side about half its length in gold on dark blue with a 

 series of scroll-like designs which surround groups of oval scallops. 

 The decorations include on the obverse two winged female figures 

 facing and two deer, and on the reverse a single deer. The grip is 

 made of wood covered with leather and wound with wicker wisps. 

 The grip is surmounted by an iron strip, and the guard and quillons 

 consist of a single iron strip. The scabbard is made of leather with 

 two brass mounts. 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY SMALL SWORDS 



The German series includes also two small swords of crude design 

 and workmanship. The blade of one,^^ belonging to the Alfred F. 

 Hopkins collection, is 6-sided. The circular grip is made of wood 

 and the pommel is ball-shaped. The guard consists of a circular 

 strip, which terminates above the blade in a monster's head. The 

 oval-shaped counterguard is decorated with figures of knights 

 mounted and tilting at each other. The other ^^ is very similar in 

 design and was acquired by the Museum in 1927 from John A. 

 Sachse. 



EIGHTEENTH CENTURY MILITARY SABERS 



The German swords include two military sabers of the latter part 

 of the eighteenth century. One of these ^^ has a short blade with a 

 narrow deep groove on each side near the back. The grip is of brass 

 with diagonal grooves. The pommel is a plain brass ball, and the 

 guard consists of a circular strip, which widens into a plain heart- 



^- Length, 78.8 cm. Blade, 65 cm. long, 4.8 cm. wide. 



" Length, 91.3 cm. Blade, 76.3 cm, long, 2,4 cm, wide, PI. 40, fig. 2. 



" Length, 89.3 cm. Blade, 74 cm. long, 2 cm. wide. PI. 40, fig. 3, 



^^ Length, 88 cm. Blade, 71.2 cm. long, 3 cm. wide. Marked " Potsdam," PI, 40, fig. 4. 



