Ok Nando! You know I cant resist Spanish Colonial, and cuphilts get me weak in the knees
This example is really amazing, and I have never seen shagreen on anything Spanish Colonial. I feel compelled to add some observations so I must apologize in advance and hope it will not stall the thread.
This is as you have already noted, the strictly business type of cuphilt used on the frontiers of New Spain in the latter 18th century and actually probably well into the 19th. The Peninsular gentry of these regions still retained thier tradition and deep pride in thier noble heritage, and maintained thier fascination with fashions and weapons often considered obsolete elsewhere.
These heavy versions of the cuphilt were more 'arming swords' of course than rapiers, and carried double edged blades usually of hexagonal cross section which are believed to have been produced in Solingen for export to Spains New World colonies.
While it has been well established that the so called 'Spanish motto' noted on this blade, has been around far earlier than the period of these blades, c.1770s, it was indeed popularized largely by the volume of these blades that exist.
Getting to the intriguing grip on this, while it appears to be 'rayskin' which refers to the pearled rayfish, as used and well known on Oriental weapons, and even similar to Tatar swords of the 17th century (termed 'czeczuga' =small sturgeon, Ostrowski, 1979, p.232).....this may be something different.
Apparantly this fashionable covering was popularized in Europe by a master leatherworker in the court of Louis XV named Jean-Claude Galluchat (d.1774). It is noted that while possibly actual shagreen may have been used in cases, it was sometimes imitated by placing embedding seeds over untreated horse skin and covering with soft cloth, then applying pressure. The skin was then dyed from the reverse, often with green dye. This style became extremely popular with French aristocracy in the latter part of the 18th century.
I am wondering if perhaps this sword, the type known widely popular in Spains colonies in Florida and Cuba as well as South America, might have been mounted accordingly using this fashionable material. Obviously there was considerable contact between French and Spanish trade in the Gulf as well as throughout these regions in these times, so this may account for this extremely rare combination in this example.
Attached box covered in 'Galuchat', the term used for this style.
Beautiful piece Nando!!!
Best regards,
Jim