Measuring 27 1/4 inches overall and weighing in at just over 3 pounds, notes from the consignor date the weapon as a whole to France circa 1840, and the hilt as being the design of Francois Desire Froment Meurice (1802-1855), a Parisian goldsmith who at that point had won 2 silver medals at the 1939 Industrial Exposition, and would go on to win a gold metal at the 1944 Exposition. Among his works was a ceremonial crib for the Imperial Prince Napoleon, and a harvest cup on display at the Louvre. The blade measures 21 inches in a double-edged dagger point configuration with diamond cross section and no visible makers marks, possibly a repurposed martial blade. The hilt measures 6 3/4 inches tall and 5 3/4 inches wide, consisting entirely of a single impressively detailed bronze sculpture. On the obverse, an unadorned shield topped with a French crown serves as the languet, with the counter-guard showing seven dogs crowding around the feet and legs of a huntsman, who is blowing on a horn with his back to a tree. On the reverse is the other side of the tree, where two dead boar and a large bird are piled. The sheath is steel construction, 2 pounds 4.2 ounces in weight, with a red velvet wrap and heavy bronze throat and tip. Each side of the throat is decorated with arrangements of doves flying though the loops of hunting horns, an array of huntsman's equipment and a scene of a hunter in close combat with a wolf, about to drive home a fatal blow to the beast with his sword. The tip shows an even more dramatic scene of a hunter driven up a tree by a wildcat, preparing to swing at the leaping cat with an axe while another wolf is pinned beneath the very point of the tip.

Very good. The blade shows a mixed gray patina, with some wear from the sheath and evidence of polishing and reshaping. The sheath is good, with some light stains on the velvet. The bronze components are fine, with a few light handling marks and sharp detail. An impressive display of the sculptor's art.