Seeking Information on a Small Sword

[Seeker]

This small sword is another part of the collection I recently inherited from a late friend. The pommel is hollow and intricately pierced and chiseled, and the front guard and knuckle guard are also elaborately decorated. I've been told by knowledgeable persons that my sword is probably an 18th or perhaps a late 17th century sword that might have been carried by a military officer of substantial rank, perhaps a major or a colonel. (For one thing, I'm told that the manner in which the wire is braided on the grip of the hilt indicates that the sword is pre-nineteenth century.)

I'd like to know what the folks here think of the sword. Can anyone identify its most probable country of origin, or pin down its age a bit better? Thanks in advance!