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Spain. Spanish Antique Cavalry Sword with “Boca de Caballo” Hilt, Model 1728
This model was standardized by the Royal Ordinance of July 12, 1728, which specified a uniform sword for the Cavalry: “they must be identical in every aspect to the new manufacture, and no Regiment or Company shall deviate from its form, size, or weight.” It also appears in the illustrated plates of the Treatise on Artillery created between 1787–1794, and later in the Explanation of the Plates of the Treatise on Artillery (1816), where it is referred to as the «antique Cavalry sword» and noted to have been in use until 1802, when a new model was adopted.
The Boca de Caballo model is characterized by an asymmetrical double-shell guard, with one shell larger than the other, and two quillons pointing in opposite directions. This particular example has both decorated shells and blade, and features a double-edged blade with fuller and inscription, typical of early examples of this model.
Engraved on the blade is the chivalric motto: “No me saques sin rason / No me enbaines sin honor” («Draw me not without reason / Sheathe me not without honor»).
Total length: 104 cm
Blade length: 89 cm
Original 18th-century Spanish sword.
