17th Century Schiavona

Place of Origin: Venice

Date: c.1650

Overall Length:

Description:

Broadsword blade, with early European talismanic marks on the blade as well as Islamic script. The hilt has been classified by Ewart Oakeshott as Type 2 and has been estimated to date in the first half of the 17th century. It has a simple brass pommel with well executed hilt, likely a private purchase belonging to an officer of the Schiavoni.

The Schiavoni were Slavonic Mercenaries under the employ of the Doges of Venice and later the Habsburg Empire, which helps to explain the stylistic elements on this blade.

The hilt of Oakeshott Type 2 is the first of three steps in the development of the Type 2 Schiavona hilt. It has one ladder incorporated in its guard, which later became two and then three ladders in the late 17th and 18th centuries.