Gendarmerie Saber Of The Grand Duchy Of Berg Under The Direction Of Joachim Murat Duke Of Berg.

Brass single-branch guard, long-tailed pommel; wooden grip covered in calfskin and inlaid with brass wire, long quillon. Blade signed on the spine: & Comp: a Solingen, curved with a single fuller, engraved on one side "GENDARMERIE" and on the other "GRAND DUCHÉ DE BERG". Blade length 90.5 cm. Blade width 3.4 cm. Steel scabbard with two wide brass suspension rings and bands. Overall length 105.5 cm. In good condition. France. First Empire. Provenance: From a family in the Lot region, closely related to the Murat family of the Lot at the end of the 18th century. Murat was born on March 25, 1767, in Labastide-Fortunière, now known as Labastide-Murat, in the Lot department. The Grand Duchy of Berg, under the leadership of Joachim Murat, was a satellite state of Imperial France from 1806 to 1813. This duchy, which grouped together numerous historical principalities of the Holy Roman Empire around the Duchy of Berg, was formed to serve as an administrative model for the other states of the Confederation of the Rhine. Murat was invested as Grand Duke of Berg on March 15, 1800, and ruled the duchy until its secession from the Holy Roman Empire on August 1, 1806.