Going further in analysis on this, finally found my copy of "Naval Swords" (Annis, 1970) and the portrait and sword I was thinking of. On pp.24-25 a hanger remarkably like Mark's (this one c.1700) with stag horn etc. The portrait was of John Benbow (1653-1701) who was a captain in the Royal Navy 1689; and achieved flag rank becoming Commander in Chief in West Indies. He was killed in action with a French squadron in 1701.
Surely the West Indies connection was in mind for Stevenson when he wrote "Treasure Island" in 1883, and Benbow predated the settings of Stevenson's story estimated mid 18th c.
With the decoration in the hilt, as always, a great deal can be read into the theme. Cherubs (or 'putto') are often featured in Baroque art as the fluer de lis is , and this form of 17th century+ art is typically associated with the Catholic Faith. However in Holland it was deemed to have less religious connotation.
The 'cherubs' (often winged) can represent the flight of death, or may reflect the omnipresence of God, and of course various interpretations.
As far as I have known, there is no particular association in Germany with cherub use in theme as far as on swords. There is as always a great deal of lore surrounding blade centers toward quenching of them in river waters etc. and the same is found in Spain and others.
It would be hard to say what royal figures are represented here, but the crowns of course suggest that association. As noted, the faces are not necessarily commemorative to specific figures. Among these themes in English swords are also figures such as 'the green man'; moon type faces; and others.
In Annis (op.cit p.25) it notes the kings head mark on the blade of the example (the mark of the Wundes family et al. through 17th c) though Annis claims it is unidentified, but that"... it is almost certainly German, and it is entirely possible that the whole sword was made in that country".
We have found in research on the Shotley Bridge enterprise that blades from Germany indeed came into England from Rotterdam in this latter 17th century period. It seems entirely possible that blades from Solingen may have been hilted in Holland for sale in England. It is well known that the styles favored with Dutch and English swords ran very close and through the 18th c as well.
David I just noticed your post and we crossed posts......those are indeed fluer de lis, which appear surprisingly frequently in English motif of these times and even in blade markings in the 18th c. .
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