SOLD An authentic antique Polish officer sword Model 1917 known as the Legionowka, as the swords were used by the officers of the Polish Legions (Legiony Polskie), a Polish armed forces created in 1914 in Galicia, as the independent formation of the Austro – Hungarian Army.
DETAILS: A brass stirrup hilt deeply stamped on the outer side of the crossguard in an ellipse, MORAWSKI Ska w Warszawie, a leather-covered ribbed wooden grip, with an integral backpiece, decorated with the Polish crowned eagle, perched on an Amazon shield (Military pattern). A sturdy and heavy, slightly curved, single edged Austrian blade, with a wide full-length fuller, stamped on one side of the forte, L.ZEMLER, WIEN, the other side is stamped with the inspector marks, in its steel scabbard. Many Polish swords from the 1917-1920 period had Austrian, German, or Russian blades, and Polish made hilts, see (a) Andrzej Nadolski's “Polska Bron†page 163 (b) "Szabla żołnierza polskiego XIX i XX wiek" by Aleksander Czerwiński & Lesław Dudekan, Page 160. Also a comparable Polish sword with the same hilt, but with side bars, and the same Austrian blade, is published in the Catalog, "BRON I BARWA NIEPODLEGLEJ POLSKI 1918 – 1978", Page 53 No 38 EB, and also Page 56 No 41 JW. In 1921 a Polish Regulation pattern sword appeared, with Polish made blades, and the standard for all units of the Polish army, a single bar hilt. Due to the changes, all the swords in the Polish army must had single bar hilts, so the swords with hilts that had additional bars, were modified, and the side bars were removed to follow regulation pattern, see "Szabla żołnierza polskiego XIX i XX wiek" by Aleksander Czerwiński & Lesław Dudekan, Page 161-192. Therefore, the two side bars which were originally on the hilt of this particular sword, were removed to meet with the regulation pattern. For similar swords without side bars, please see: (a) "Dzieje szabli w Polsce" by Włodzimierz Kwaśniewicz, Page 171 (b) The Russian edition of the Book, "Polish Sword" by Wlodzimierz Kwasniewicz, published in Saint Petersburg 2005, Page 167, a color photograph of the Polish sword from the collection of the Russian Museum, and another on Page 138.
The buyer will be provided with a copy of the pages from the mentioned references, together with the certificate of authenticity.
CONDITION: The sword is in good condition considering its age, with signs of usage. Absence of the wire bound on the grip, the leather bounding of the grip is chipped, also there are small chips in the wood with signs of later repainting. The scabbard is with spots of surface rust, and oxidation, with some dents in the lower part of the iron scabbard, two screws from the scabbard mouth are missing. The blade is with spots of minor pitting, with signs of professional cleaning, the leather washer is cracked. The brass hilt is with minor nicks and scratches, a small dent on the backpiece.
MEASUREMENTS: Overall length with the scabbard: 102.8 cm (40 1/2 in), the length without the scabbard: 89 cm (35 in), length of the blade: 76.2cm (30 inches).
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