Cavalry 'Mortuary' Sword, believed to have belonged to Oliver Cromwell
Unknown Artist
17th century mortuary cavalry sword, believed to have belonged to Oliver Cromwell. Iron hilt of three shells, silvered inside and out and pierced with scrolling foliage decorated with grotesques including monsters' heads, winged terms, and stylised dolphin-head terminals, framing a central oval cartouche bearing a male or female head, with contemporary beard and hair styles, chiselled in relief: the main borders, including those of the cartouches, are outlined with rows of punched circles.
The pommel is chiselled with scrollwork framing similar cartouches. On each side of the guard where the blade enters are small, shaped langets, chiselled with foliage. The wooden grip is spirally bound with plain, twisted and plaited silver-gilt wire of varying thicknesses.
The blade is of flattened hexagonal section with a central gutter on each face of the forte containing a running wolf mark and the incised initials OC. Stuck in the front of the gutter is an elaborate version of the well-known king's head mark, incorporating a small mark of a rose, resembling-except that it is not crowned-the view mark found on military firearms of the reign of Charles II.