BEAUTIFUL KNIGHTS TEMPLAR FRATERNAL SWORD & SCABBARD

Description

E011W, Circa 1880's, in the hay day of the fraternal orders. Fanciest sword imaginable of it's type with all sorts of decoration and symbolic iconography. Comes with fancy scabbard, the soft lined linen shroud (not in most of the photos) and the hard leather carrying case on which is marked; RUTHERFORD J. ROSS JAQUES DE MOLAY NO 3 K.T. FORT SMITH ARK. The sword itself has 30" straight blade, extremely embellished with décor, symbols, knights in armor and a battle scene between knights and the Saracens right out of the Holy Crusades. The ricasso bears maker's legend; THE McLILLEY & CO COLUMBUS OHIO. The blade is nickel plated and all engraving, fully 3/4 of the blade back and front is gold plated in background to the images, also bearing the knight's name; RUTHERFORD J. ROSS, in calligraphy. The brass hilt, pommel and hand chain are nickel plated too with much high relief and a sigil bears the symbol of the cross within the crown in red and purple enamel respectively. The white bovine bone grip is finely scrimshawed with the same symbol as well as a fine wreath in which the knights initials intertwined RJR and on reverse side the decorative cross in the triangle are depicted in scrimshaw too. The mountings on the steel nickel plated scabbard are just as decoration with sculpted relief of these icons, the Maltese cross and the true cross filled the red enamel. Finest specimen has only a few blemishes of rust from age/time on scabbard only, on 1 end about 4" in a line and will clean OK. All original and complete, ship weight 5 pounds.