Good Evening,
I picked this blade up from a friend who got it at a local auction and was trying to see if anyone has an opinion of it. Small swords are not something I have done a lot of reading on, however this one does not scream replica to me and wanted others input. The mark on the blade is "Bauche" and it is an eliptical hollow grind blade. The closest reference to a sword maker by that name was Baucheron-Pirmet but the mark is clearly Bauche. Any ideas on this one? Thank you for your responses
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The mark on the blade looks relatively modern to me, it must be late 19th century or even more recent.

What material is the guard and pommel made of? There is metal visible beolw the gilding, but I can not decide what it is. Brass or bronze would be most commonly expected in the 18th century,

Thank you for your response. I think it may be brass below the gilding. From what I can tell it is solid and looks like brass not bronze. The capstain appears to be iron or steel. The mark and the grindlines near the ricasso is what makes me believe that it is a later sword, however the whole thing is a puzzle to me. I do like a good mystery :confused:

Nathan.
It looks like a modern sporting Epee blade remounted in an 18th century ormolu bronze smallsword hilt.
Can you show pictures of the tip?
Also have a look where the tang would be visible on the top of the pommel.
I don't recognise the makers name.
Even under these circumstances, good blades do turn up, so you could marry it back to a smallsword blade and have a nice piece.

Best
Gene

P.S. quite possibly done for theatrical or film purposes.

Thank you Gene and robert for your responses. I managed to get a few more shots as requested including the remants of the sheath.
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Ok this may be a little far-fetched... but does it possibly say BOUCHE?

In french bouche essentially means mouth.

Sword swallowing is called l'épée dans la bouche

Perhaps this was a theatre prop used for sword swallowing and was marked accordingly?


Just an idea...

Z