Kind of late to the game in responding to this thread, but... in Wither's self-published
World Swords, he shows this
very similar pattern hilt (actually twice) in his smallswords section and attributes it to ca. 1760 (and later to ca. 1800). Cutlers often had established pattern numbers from manufacturers they offered to their customers, such as those Bezdek shows on pgs. 269-273 in his book on English (and Scottish) sword makers. It would seem reasonable that some patterns (such as this Rococo pattern) would have been more popular than others, whether it be for stylistic or cost reasons, the latter which would have been impacted by the use of cast hilts to meet the demand at the time. After all, what 18th C. gentleman worth his weight would be caught without his smallsword?
