EL6332 - A very rare and attractive Yeomanry cavalry officer's sabre, based on the 1796 light cavalry pattern, from Fettercairn House in Kincardineshire, Scotland. The two similar heraldic crests engraved on the blade, on each side, relate to the Stuarts of Fettercairn and the Forbes of Pitsligo, to whom Fettercairn House passed by marriage. This sword, along with a great collection of other items was sold by the estate in 1999. It is presumed that these swords were purchased by the 6th Baronet (Sir William Forbes), or perhaps his son, during the Napoleonic Wars, in order to equip a yeomanry cavalry force. This was something that many land owners did, but it is unusual to see swords marked to these units come up for sale. This is an officer's version, made by Runkel. It features a highly curved blade with raised false edge, or yelman, a shagreen and silver wire grip and faceted ferrule and backpiece. The sword is in excellent condition overall, with the crests clearly engraved by hand on each side of the blade, and the maker's name clearly engraved on the spine. There is some movement in the hilt, quite small in the guard and a little in the backpiece and ferrule. The grip itself does seem firm on the tang. The tang peen at the pommel shows the signs of having been re-peened. The scabbard is missing, probably because after these swords passed out of service, they were used to adorn the walls of the great house without their scabbards. Despite this being an officer's weapon, my guess is that these swords were still bought and provided by the Baronet, as with the troopers' swords. Though there is the possibility that this sword belonged to an actual family member, due to the double crests. A lovely and highly unusual Scottish attributed sword, with lots more research potential.
