TS marking o a german(?) 16th century blade

[cornelistromp]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Very interesting, and nice examples.
I am wondering about the 'town watch' distinction used in describing these swords. I am not familiar with that term, and cannot help thinking of Rembrandt's famed painting , the so called "Night Watch". This is apparently a militia company with arquebusiers, and I am wondering if these swords were typically favored by these company's or if the term has other meaning.

Is the asymmetrical hilt peculiar to these, or simply a popular design of the time?

All best regards,
Jim

Hi Jim,
yes correct.
in the middle ages every civilian had to take part in defending the cities.
In the 13thC came the military use of the bow and arrow. to use the bow and arrow special skills were needed. the people united themselves in "schuttersgilden" to practice with the hand and foot bow. at the end of the 14thC general rules were made and duties and rights were described by the city government. those schuttersgilden were often "used"
by the defending of the Dutch cities because of their shooting skills.
on the other hand they were very difficult to control them.
It was an Honor to be selected as a member of those schuttersgilden and the members were from the upper class and they financed their own expensive weapons. The dutch schutters paintings of Rotius (1650, Alkmaar) show already very "new for that period and progressive " small sword models!!!
after 1580 the gildes were organized after a military model.
Rembrandt's night watch the compagnie of Frans Banning Cocq was painted in 1642. The tasks/power of the schutters was already reduced to control the streets in the evening and nights. Due to frequent misbehaviors of those schutters during the night duty all the tasks were taken from them a bit later.
I understood the German Munich Town guards/watch were formed after a military model and were all provided with the same armour and a Stantler type town watch sword/rapier. Maybe Michael can tell us more about this.

for this sword type see the last auction of
http://www.hermann-historica.com/

lot 3677

best regards

[Valjhun]

6.500 + 23% buyers commision???

WTF???

I hadn't realise, that it has such a value! WOW!

Anybody interested?

[Valjhun]

Gents, many thanks to all of you, especially to cornelistromp, for your research and comments.

Having that gem in my collection, I've became somehow interested in that field. Can you advise with some literature?

Thank you!

Here are the rest of the pics:

[cornelistromp]

thanks!

please see for the Stantler type town sword the coming auction of .

http://www.thomasdelmar.com/Catalogu...609/page4.html

112
A GERMAN SWEPT-HILT RAPIER, CIRCA 1600

with sharply tapering blade of diamond section, tapering ricasso stamped with a mark, probably the letters ST arranged vertically beneath a crown for Wolfgang Stantler (worn), steel hilt of flattened rounded bars, comprising down-curved forward-canted quillon with flattened globular pierced terminal (repairs), knuckle-guard with flattened globular terminal, bifurcated outer ring-guard joining the arms of the hilt at the base, lower ring-guard, trifurcated inner guard, and flattened barrel-shaped pommel (the hilt cleaned and with areas of pitting), and later grip bound with plaited silver wire and 'Turk's heads'

91cm; 35 7/8in blade

This sword belongs to the well known group of rapiers associated with the Munich Town Guard. The present example varies in the use of an s-shaped as opposed to curved bar joining the outer ring to the lower ring-guard. Others are preserved in the Royal Armouries, Leeds, the Musée Royal de l'Armée et d'Histoire Militaire, Brussels, and the Wallace Collection. Another example from this group was sold Sotheby's Olympia, 29th June 2005, lot 34 (£14,400, including premium). For a discussion of this group see A.V.B. Norman 1980, pp.127-129.
Estimate: 5000-7000
Nil

best regards