Hanger

Hanger, which belonged to Lieutenant Amherst Morris (active 1793). The hilt of the hanger consists of a guard made up of two small quillons, the fore is up-turned and the aft, is down-turned. The reverse side of the leading quillon is marked with the wreath motif of Inspector Jean Jacques Prevost (active 1768) and an undecipherable date. The reverse side of the trailing quillon is marked with the crowned dagger mark of a Parisian maker with the initial 'L' the second initial is obliterated. It is thought that this is the mark of Laurent Depe (1751-1793). The hanger has semi-circular langets, which are made in one piece with the guard. The whole is made of silver, as is the ferrule, which is separate. The hanger has a silver pommel, which is slightly domed and decorated with scroll and ray motifs, which emanate from the small tang button. The grooved polished wood grip, tapers from its widest part at the pommel to the guard and is bound spirally with a continuous strip of copper wire (3 mms wide) and on either side of the copper wire with fine twisted silver wire.

The hanger is engraved with the cutler's strap marks, which bears traces of original gilding on the obverse and the reverse. The cutler's strap marks on the reverse consist of engraved foliage; a trophy made in the form of an oval shield supported by a cannon, flags, pikes and drums and hachures (a short line of engraving to represent shadows). The cutler's strap marks on the reverse consist of engraved draped foliage; a trophy made in the form of an oval shield supported by a cannon, flags, pikes and drums; further foliage and hachures (a short line of engraving to represent shadows). The dark brown leather scabbard has a (broken) silver top locket fitted with a suspension ring and a silver chape. Both silver mounts are decorated, the top locket having indentations to admit the langets. The leather is decorated with blind tooling consisting of parallel lines in a saltire (diagonal cross).

The hanger is thought to have been surrendered to Lieutenant Amherst Morris of the frigate HMS 'Nymphe' by the second captain of the French frigate 'La Cleopatre' after an action on the 18th June 1793. Lieutenant Amherst Morris's great-nephew, the Reverend M.C.F.Morris gave the hanger to the Royal United Services Institute. A similar type of hanger is in the United States of America, is said to have been used by George Washington.

Object Details

ID: WPN1266
Collection: Weapons
Type: Hanger
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Depe, Laurent
Places: France; United States of America
Vessels: Cleopatre (1781); Nymphe (captured 1780)
Date made: 1768
People: Prevost, Inspector Jean Jacques; Morris, Amherst Morris, Reverend M. C. F. Royal United Service Institution Washington, George
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Royal United Service Institution Collection
Measurements: Overall: 597 x 29 x 90 mm
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