EARLY VICTORIAN EAST INDIA COMPANY LION HEAD SWORD

The British East India Company had grown from a trading concern to be the agency for the British Government in India. Its story is fascinating. It employed native troops and also British and Scottish military and maintained and administered its territory as three residences based in Madras, Bombay, and Bengal. The most-senior officer appointments were always reserved for the British. Much of the history of this incredible military experience can be studied by entering your favorite search engine and typing in “British Army during the Victorian Era.” Besides its governmental and military rule the company rose to account for half the world’s trade, particularly in basic commodities including cotton, silk, indigo dye, salt, tea, and opium. Always it had a firm foothold in India. It was, it can be said, to be the forerunner of “Amazon.com” dealing in practically everything. It became a powerful trade monopoly. Dealing in armaments, it actually maintained a navy having several commercial ships and men-of-war, as well. Its vessels participated in several famous battles. The Sword Several companies whose stock and trade was the manufacture of guns, cannons, swords, and other weaponry were contracted to the East India Company; large firms competed against smaller companies for orders. For them, gunsmiths and sword cutlers would strive to provide the absolute best and most exquisite offerings with precision workmanship. To receive and be authorized and to have the words “Makers to the East India Company” to be used in conjunction with their name was to be the absolute highest achievement that a company could attain and it assured those merchants that the British India Company would continue merchandising those products in the future. The sword we offer is highly unusual in that the swords that the East India Company handled were pretty much of typical British military design, but here we have a puzzling diversion from the rule. This sword when viewed by an experienced sword collector is almost 90 percent Prussian or German right to its “P” guard, wire-wrapped grip over black, patent-leather handle. The lion head is “hands-on” Prussian in every way to include his toothy bite on the top of the red “P” guard. The crossguard also has a typical regal lion on its foremost extension. The large clamshell languet bears crossed sabers that can be seen on German cavalry swords; they are crossed on the wreath of typical laurel leaves (also Germanic). The fantastic blade tells it all!!! First, one must realize that it’s in immaculate condition and has wonderful golden floral designs and is surmounted with a potpourri of flags, and a spiked helmet used in both British and German Victorian designs. The blade has a strong back ridge often called a bone breaker and its steel is bright and the blade ends in the typical style of German Imperial swords. To describe the blade one has to say the word “beautiful,” because no other word would do! So, we have to say that this weapon is absolutely phenomenal! The scabbard is the two-ring type in steel and is in the cavalry style. The sword had to have been made especially for a very tall man as it measures 42 inches long in its scabbard. Excellent