This is a Versailles marked hilt with a Klingenthal blade dated July 1814 and marked 'Manufacture royale'. In all likelihood this saw service in the Hundred Days campaign which led to Waterloo. This infantry briquet was carried by all French infantry and foot artillery units. It normally had a leather scabbard with brass mounts.
The design replaced an earlier 18th-century one and continued in use during the first half of the 19th century throughout Europe.
Sadly, there is no scabbard, but otherwise, with the exception of some very minor surface scarring, both blade and hilt are in excellent shape and have never been dismantled.
If you want to comment on this item—re quality, age, etc—please email me.
[Edged Weapons : Swords : French : 19th Century]
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