Auction Name: 2025 December 8 Arms & Armor, Civil War & Militaria Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 40023

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/6325*40023

Schiavona Baskethilt Sword, 17th Century.

Measuring approximately 37-inches overall, this sword is fitted with a 30 1/2-inch straight, double-edged blade with a raised medial ridge, 1 1/4-inches at its widest point. The hilt is of intricate baskethilt form, its openwork guard flaring outward in the distinctive style associated with the Schiavona. A right-handed thumb hook is incorporated into the design, paired with an oval grip of leather over wood, though the original wire binding is now absent. The pommel is of brass, cast in a three-point floral form recalling the stylized "cat's head" type often associated with Schiavona swords of the period.

Note: The Schiavona, named for the Venetian term for "Slavonic" or "Slavonian," was a military sword favored by the Dalmatian mercenaries in Venetian service during the late Renaissance. By the 16th and 17th centuries, it had become widely popular in Italy as a robust alternative to the slender rapier. Distinguished by its broad, double-edged blades and elaborate latticework basket hilts, the Schiavona offered both cutting power and hand protection, making it a practical battlefield weapon as well as a symbol of the Venetian military elite.

Condition: Good to very good with age wear. Showing an overall mottled gray patina on blade and hilt. Fine scratches present to metal with minor bends and loss. Crude metal and some pitting inside hilt. Dried leather handle, as mentioned no wire wrapping present.

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