An etched State Halberd, Central European or Russian, circa ...

Hammer

£300

An etched State Halberd, Central European or Russian, circa 1740, the head with ridged blade, both sides decorated with scrollwork framing an oval filled with a cross device, possibly that of the Russian Order of St. Anna, a small armorial cartouche below, the lower portion formed with a distinctive axe-blade cut with an acutely concave recess in its leading edge and with flat hook-like fluke, etched with an elaborate trophy-of-arms over its centre, and tubular socket with moulded collars: on a wooden haft (light wear), head length 29cm

Note: Another, closely comparable but with neither the cross nor the armorial cartouche included its etched design is in the Higgins Armory collection, now at the Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts (image WAM 2652412)