Infamous German Naval Sword with Historical Importance
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An historically interesting German naval dress sword presented to Oberleutnant Hans-Joachim Rahmlom. Rahmlow gained infamy from a unique incident of capitulation when in August 1941 as Kapitänleutnant of the World War II German submarine U-570 under attack he surrendered, unnecessarily in hindsight, and allowed his craft to be captured. The event was a critically important action with potential Enigma code material onboard as well as supplying the Allies with a German craft which enabled consideration of it's design. The capture of U-570 was considered sensational news by Churchill, especially considering the Bismarck had been sunk exactly three months earlier to the day, Churchill wrote in his book 'The Second World War' specifically on U-570 and the accompanying boost in British hopes. The action, crew interrogation, incarceration, Court of Honour action against Rahmlow and other dramatics are documented in numerous publications but a broad picture is painted by the Wiki site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Graph. The sword bears an 80 cm pipe-back blade in fine damascus and gold-wash with etched panels incorporating bluing to the presentation inscription as a prize to Rahmlow from the Chiefs of Naval Command for Gunnery and dated 1934. The gilded hilt with fouled anchor guard, lion head pommel with inset bi-colour 'jewelled' eyes, wire bound ivorine hilt and with attached bullion portepee. With gilt brass mounted leather scabbard. Provenance: the estate of Capt. Andrew Douglas Holden Rnznr, Obe, Dsc, Rd. (Cf. lot 162)
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- Gilding - Gilding is a method of ornamentation whereby a thin sheet of gold metal is applied to items made of wood, leather, ceramics, glass and silver for decorative purposes.
For furniture including mirrors, the sheet of gold is usually applied over a coating of gesso. Gesso is a mixture of plaster of Paris and gypsum mixed with water and then applied to the carved wooden frames of mirrors and picture frames as a base for applying the gold leaf. After numerous coats of gesso have been applied, allowed to dry and then sanded a coat of "bole", a usually red coloured mixture of clay and glue is brushed on and allowed to dry, after which the gold leaf is applied. Over time parts of the gilding will rub off so the base colour can be seen. In water gilding, this was generally a blue colour, while in oil gilding, the under layer was often yellow. In Victorian times, gilders frequently used red as a pigment beneath the gold leaf.
Metal was often gilded by a process known as fire gilding. Gold mixed with mercury was applied and heated, causing the mercury to evaporate, the long-term effect of which was to kill or disable the craftsman or woman from mercury poisoning. The pursuit of beauty has claimed many victims, not the least of which were the artists who made those pieces so highly sought after today.
This item has been included into following indexes:
- Churchill, Winston (Great Britain) - memorabilia 125
- edged weapons, swords
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