29th Jun, 2023 12:00
The David Hayden-Wright Collection of Antique Knives
688
A SOUTH AMERICAN GAUCHO BOWIE KNIFE, MARKED MAZEPPA, SAMUEL HANCOCK & SONS, MID-19TH CENTURY
with sharply tapering blade double-edged towards the point and with filed mouldings along the back-edge, struck with a figure strapped to a horse's back and ‘Mazeppa’ on one face, white metal hilt cast with neo rococo ornament and a serpent in low relief, in its German silver-mounted leather scabbard, 24.0 cm blade
The Mazeppa mark refers to Ivan Mazeppa, a historical Cossack figure in Ukraine, who had been bound naked to a horse’s back as a punishment for adultery. Samuel Hancock (circa 1795-1854), a cutlery manufacturer in Pea Croft, Sheffield, was granted this mark in 1849. In 1896 the company and its mark passed to Reuss & Co.
Part proceeds to benefit the Acquisition Fund of the Arms and Armor department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Sold for £170
with sharply tapering blade double-edged towards the point and with filed mouldings along the back-edge, struck with a figure strapped to a horse's back and ‘Mazeppa’ on one face, white metal hilt cast with neo rococo ornament and a serpent in low relief, in its German silver-mounted leather scabbard, 24.0 cm blade
The Mazeppa mark refers to Ivan Mazeppa, a historical Cossack figure in Ukraine, who had been bound naked to a horse’s back as a punishment for adultery. Samuel Hancock (circa 1795-1854), a cutlery manufacturer in Pea Croft, Sheffield, was granted this mark in 1849. In 1896 the company and its mark passed to Reuss & Co.
Part proceeds to benefit the Acquisition Fund of the Arms and Armor department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Auction: The David Hayden-Wright Collection of Antique Knives, 29th Jun, 2023
