Thank you Michael,
Great advice about stabilizing the piece, and I think my friend has already done the destilled water treatment. I also remember the tannin water solution recipe you gave in an earlier thread - very helpful.
I agree that the sabre may be later - 15/16th century, and could be Hungarian, though I do not think these sabres are a direct descendant of the Magyar sabres of the 9th and 10th centuries. The form is quite different - the blade is much wider, and I believe this type was adopted in Central Europe as a result of contact and conflict with the Ottomans, much like the lobster helmets of the period. That type of blade one can also see on karabellas of even later vintage (17-18th centuries), but the angled tang makes me think this is an earlier blade. Do you have any examples of Hungarian or Austrian sabres with the hilt at an angle to the blade, either in museums or in contemporary pictorial art?
Thank you,
Teodor
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