Antique 19th Century French Romantic Dagger Stiletto

The beautifully executed gold gilt bronze hilt is in the form of a sculpture depicting a high-ranking musketeer's officer of the guard of Henry III, King of France, and Poland. The sculpture is well-modeled with superb, fine, hand-chiseled details.

The musketeer is dressed in a typical late 16th-century elaborate musketeer uniform. He is wearing a top hat adorned with two ostrich feathers, cuirass armor with a large cross in the middle, a belt across his torso with a suspended gunpowder flask, and a pouch with tassels.

His right-hand rests on his hip, his left hand holds a large matchlock musket with the right. He wears breeches, trousers, and buckle shoes. He is standing on a crossguard in the form of a plinth, consisting of two winged dragons whose heads form the pommel of the crossguard.

The sculpture displays the artist's exceptional skills, with stunning hand-chiseled details of the face, including ears, eyes, mustache, bird, and hair, and the details of the uniform, matchlock musket, powder flask with pouch, hat with feathers, and buckle shoes.

A beautifully and extremely well-hand-forged, sturdy, double-edged tapered steel blade is cut on each face with two narrow fullers.

The well-modeled massive gold gilt bronze ornate scabbard is splendidly decorated on both sites with grotesque masks within elaborated oval cartouches, shells, and floral motifs.

I have come across various 19th-century Romantic daggers in the past, but none of them were as impressive as this one. It is of exceptional quality with a heavy gold gilt and intricate standing details. This is the first time we have obtained such a high-quality Romantic dagger.

CONDITION: It is in very good original, untouched condition for an over 180-year-old dagger. The gold gilding is well preserved with minor wear, and the steel blade has some black staining. The scabbard holds the blade well and tight. Please see all 15 pictures in the listing, as they are part of the object's condition description.

MEASUREMENTS:

Overall length with the scabbard: 32.5 cm (12.8 inches).

Overnight without the scabbard: 30 cm (11.81 inches).

Length of the blade: 18.3 cm (7.02 inches).

Total weight: 458 grams (1lb.)

REFERENCES:

For related Romantic daggers in the collection of The Princeton University Art Museum, please see the link below:

https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/42998

NOTE: During the 19th century, France experienced a period of social upheaval and rapid industrialization. In response, there was a romantic fascination with the Middle Ages, and people began creating artifacts from the Medieval and Renaissance periods, such as arms, armor, and other objects, to evoke the past.

To see all 19 pictures of the dagger please see the link below:

https://www.antiquesword101.com/European-Arms-and-Armor.php#!/Antique-19th-Century-French-Romantic-Dagger-Stiletto/p/656473021/category=3736929