Sword Hilt with Revolutionary Icons—Liberty

Sword Hilt with Revolutionary Icons—Liberty

This sword, an actual artifact of the revolutionary wars, shows how strongly French officers and soldiers believed themselves to be fighting for the defense of liberty, which is represented by the woman holding the balance and by the Phrygian bonnet on a pike, both visible in the hilt. This example illustrates that even "masculine" objects such as swords depicted liberty as female.

mfr 86.49

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/27/

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