SARDINIAN KINGDOM ARTILLERY TROOP SABRE, Revolution - First Empire. 28794

ARTILLERY TROOP SABER OF THE KINGDOM OF SARDINIA, Revolution - First Empire. 28794

Brass hilt. Single-branch guard decorated with lines, hollowed-out key, handle molded from a block with 11 strong twists. Curved and flat blade, engraved on one side with the inscription "VIVE L'ARTILLERIE" framed by military trophies, on the other side the Sardinian eagle is engraved with the inscription "VIVE DU ROI" on the mount, length 54.5 cm.

Kingdom of Sardinia
Revolution - First Empire.
Good condition, usual oxidation on the blade but retaining its clearly visible engravings, without scabbard.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
The Kingdom of Sardinia (in Italian: Regno di Sardegna) - officially States of the King of Sardinia until 1847 - was a European state that existed from 1720 to 1861. Specifically, it was the designation and form taken by the States of the House of Savoy following the exchange of the island of Sicily for that of Sardinia, until the foundation of the Kingdom of Italy. Indeed, the title of King of Sardinia was obtained by the Dukes of Savoy in exchange for the forced cession of the Kingdom of Sicily to Austria in 1720, as a result of the Treaty of London and the Peace of The Hague. The Kingdom of Sardinia played a key role in the creation of the Kingdom of Italy during the Risorgimento and thus in modern Italy.
The boundaries of the Kingdom of Sardinia have varied significantly throughout its history. Initially, it comprised the island of Sardinia and a continental territory, known as the Mainland Sardinian States, including Savoy, Piedmont, the Aosta Valley, and the County of Nice. The Mainland Sardinian States were part of the Holy Roman Empire until their conquest by the First Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars. The territory of the Kingdom was then reduced to just the island of Sardinia. Following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, it regained its continental part, in addition to annexing the Ligurian Republic. The national territory remained stable until 1859, when Lombardy, the United Provinces of Central Italy, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies were annexed, and the province of Annecy, the province of Chambéry, and the district of Nice were ceded to France.
In French historiography, the Kingdom of Sardinia is often referred to as the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, due to the fact that its de facto capital was Turin, located in the Principality of Piedmont. Indeed, the translation of the Italian term "regno sabaudo-sardo" would rather be "sardo-savoisien" (named after the ruling dynasty, to distinguish it from the former Spanish Kingdom of Sardinia). After 1815, the common usage in French to designate the States of Savoy was "Etats sardes" (in Italian: Stati sardi), notably in geography, commerce, diplomacy, and the press.