Gold sabre by the Austrian cutler Kolbe with the cipher of Emperor Napoleon, First Empire, circa 1810. PHILIPPE MISSILLIER COLLECTION, Giquello auction house, Drouot - rooms 5-6, March 6 & 7, 2025.

PHILIPPE MISSILLIER COLLECTION
EARLY PERIOD – BOOKS – 17TH CENTURY FIREARMS
HUNTING ART – PHALERISTICS
18TH AND 19TH CENTURY WEAPONS – RUSSIAN ART
Friday, March 7, 2025 - 11am to 12pm
AFRICA AND OCEANIA – FAR EAST
Friday, March 7, 2025 - 2pm
ISLAMIC AND INDIAN ART
Drouot - rooms 5-6

EXHIBITION
Tuesday, March 4 from 11am to 6pm
Wednesday, March 5 from 11am to 6pm
Thursday, March 6 from 11am to 12pm
Phone during the exhibition: +33(0)1 48 00 20 05

GIQUELLO
Alexandre Giquello
Violette Stcherbatcheff
5, rue La Boétie - 75008 Paris
+33 (0)1 47 42 78 01 - info@giquello.net
Subject to approval
lot n°2002 389

CONTACT
Claire Richon
+33(0)1 47 70 48 00
c.richon@giquello.net

EXPERT
Bertrand Malvaux, CNES

Lot n° 232 (from the auction)
Gold saber by the Austrian bladesmith Kolbe with the Emperor Napoleon's monogram, First Empire, circa 1810.

Mounting in gold of three shades; yellow, green, and pink, with raised parts polished with agate stone background.
Guard with a branch in the "Blücher" style (German form with the upper part of the branch outward), decorated with an interlacing between a smooth ribbon and a laurel branch, fine beaded molding framing. Quillon with oval medallion-shaped ears on each face, decorated with the profile of Athena at the front and a helmeted warrior at the back, each medallion framed by a smooth ribbon of laurel branches and scrolls. Straight quillon ending with a flower. Monobloc handle representing an eagle's head with oak and laurel branches swirling around its neck.
Curved blade in damascus with grooves (two on one side and three on the other) decorated on ¾ with Oriental inscriptions in gold letters and silver fillets. Length 76 cm.
Wooden scabbard covered with fine black galuchat with three gold fittings, all hallmarked. Chape representing a long acanthus stem around which a serpent coils, framed by a series of flat mouldings, beaded, outer moulding adorned with pennate leaves, signed at the top under the passage of the rear earpiece "Kolbe a Vienne"; the decoration is identical on each side. Central fitting featuring on its front a medallion with a Medusa head and foliage corollas; at the back, the medallion is adorned with a rotating rosette and foliage, and acanthus leaves, framing mouldings identical to those of the chape. Tip of the scabbard adorned with a caduceus with acanthus leaf at the bottom, gold dart and ferrule, framing moldings identical to those of the chape.
Transport case in two parts, in wood covered with black lacquered paper, fastened with nine silver metal clasps. These two lids are lined with black silk and the inner edges are trimmed with a small braided silver trim ribbon. The upper lid is decorated at the level of the saber mount with an "N" topped by the iron crown cut and engraved in silver (height 3.7 cm, width 3.2 cm). Length 94 cm.
Austria.
First Empire, circa 1810.
Saber in perfect condition.
Case in good condition, some wear, lower lid with a central accident, some repairs.
200,000/300,000
Note: Hallmark 783/000 third grade.
Attribution: The extraordinary quality of this saber, the materials used, and the symbolism of the eagle imply a commission for a prominent figure of the French Empire. The Emperor Napoleon's monogram surmounted by the iron crown is stamped on the case. Such a mark can only be used to identify Napoleon's property.
We can suggest the hypothesis of a gift commissioned by the Austrian court in 1810 for the marriage between Napoleon and Marie-Louise of Habsburg-Lorraine.