SABRE OF SECOND LIEUTENANT GASTON DE MONTRICHARD OF THE 7th LANCERS REGIMENT, 1865, Second Empire. 29239

SABRE OF SECOND LIEUTENANT GASTON DE MONTRICHARD OF THE 7th LANCERS REGIMENT 1865, by Lepage Moutier and Fauré, Second Empire. 29239

Gilt brass hilt. Guard with three richly decorated branches of laurel and flowers. Pommel with a long tail entirely decorated in relief with garlands of foliage. Handle in wood sheathed in gray shagreen, silver filigree. Gilt brass ferrule decorated with prominent moldings. Curved blade with hollow sides, length 86.5 cm, fully acid-etched and mirror-polished. On the obverse, the engraved part covers the first 28 centimeters of the blade with a rich decor of intertwined foliage, the coat of arms of the Montrichard family (vair with a red cross), surmounted by an antique helmet with a comital crown, below a ribbon bearing the family motto "PRAEMIUM VIRTUTIS HONOR" (Honor rewards courage). On the other side, similarly engraved, with at the bottom a military trophy and a cartouche bearing the inscription "7th Lancers Regiment 1865", the tang signed "Lepage Moutier & Fauré arqrs". Engraved back with a laurel branch. Scarlet cloth knot. Steel scabbard with two suspension bands, steel tip.

France.
Second Empire.
Good condition, sword never cleaned, some oxidation spots on the blade, scabbard with surface oxidation.

BIOGRAPHY:
Marie Gaston Gabriel Armand DE MONTRICHARD, Born on August 12, 1845 in Bazoches (Nièvre).
He married Michelle de Damas d'Anlezy (1853-1895) in 1873, granddaughter of Ange Hyacinthe, Baron de Damas, general, Minister of War and Peer of France under the Empire.
Died on December 28, 1924 in Saint-Parize-le-Châtel.
A graduate of Saint-Cyr from the Danemark promotion, he volunteered at the Special Imperial Military School as a volunteer on November 5, 1863 as a student, then appointed as a first-class student on April 2, 1865. He graduated from the Special Military School with the rank of 142 out of 248. He was appointed as a second lieutenant on October 1, 1865 with the 7th Lancers Regiment and attended courses at the Saumur School as an instructional officer from October 16, 1867 to October 15, 1868. He graduated from this school ranked 11 out of 37 students. Promoted to lieutenant on July 16, 1870, he was taken prisoner on September 2, 1870 at the surrender of Sedan, returned from German prisons on March 24, 1871, and received the Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honor in June 1871. On September 1, 1871, he was assigned to the 14th Light Cavalry Regiment. He resigned from the army as a captain.

MONTRICHARD FAMILY
The Montrichard family is a surviving French noble family of feudal extraction, originating from Franche-Comté. The documented lineage dates back to the 13th century, through the will of Gérard de Montrichard in 1285. Thirteen knights of the Order of Saint George have emerged from the family.
Initially under the authority of the counts and dukes of Burgundy, the Montrichards only submitted to French authority during the annexation of Franche-Comté by Louis XIV, confirmed by the Treaties of Nimegue in 1678.
The name of this family comes from a promontory located in the present-day commune of Nans-sous-Sainte-Anne (Doubs) and crowned with a three-layered fortress (from Latin tri cardium), hence the pronunciation of the name: "Mon-Tri-chard".
This family includes military fortress governors, a chief gentleman of the Prince of Orange, masters of the household of the counts of Burgundy, bailiffs, a World War I aviation officer, canons, and abbots.