80. Auction

Two antler-grip hunting hangers, acorns, deer-hoof quillon terminals, shell guard, 19th/20th century

Stag antler, brass, steel. Two hunting hangers: 1) stag antler grip with applied acorns and oak leaves, brass grip ring and grip cap, brass shell guard, the crossguard with deer-hoof quillon terminals (hoof ends), straight back-edged blade, L. 60 cm, blade length 47 cm; 2) stag antler grip without appliqués, brass grip cap with button, ribbed brass shell guard, S-shaped curved crossguard with button ends, straight back-edged blade, L. 56 cm, blade length 42.5 cm. Both without scabbard, the blades stained.

From the 18th century, hunting hangers with stag antler grips formed part of the service uniform of forestry officials, for instance in the Electorate of Hanover, and remained part of the hunting and forestry uniform into the 20th century. The shell guard, crossguards in the form of deer-hoof quillon terminals and applied acorns with oak leaves form the standard decoration of these hunting hangers, as made in the 19th and early 20th century by Solingen manufacturers such as Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Cie. (WKC); WKC, formed in 1883 by the merger of two Solingen blade firms, was among the largest makers of edged weapons in the German Empire. The equipment included a black leather scabbard with brass mounts and frequently a companion knife, the Nicker, with which roe deer were killed by a stab to the nape of the neck. As a hunting weapon, the hunting hanger served to dispatch game with a thrust to the heart before it became a ceremonial and uniform weapon.