CATHERINE THE GREAT, 18th century, a Russian presentation Sabre in the Persian shamshir style, with a curved steel blade inlaid with a gold image of Catherine the Great and inscribed in Cyrillic Russian, the hilt comprising quillon-block with pointed fluted langets, and quillons each with melon terminals cast and chased on each side with cartouches enclosing, black and grey rippled Russian hardstone grips and cone-shaped silver pommel, cap engraved with repeated foliage, in original wooden scabbard covered in black leather, silver locket and chape embossed and chased with design of foliage and two silver rope-bordered rosettes each side with suspension loops, full length with scabbard 94cm length without scabbard 88.5cm length of blade 76cm The inscription translates: 'By the grace of God, I, Catherine II, Emperess and Autocrat of all the Russias, grant this sabre to the Cossack Ivan, son of Vassily Lukianov of the village of Don Cherkz army for his faithful service. Presented to the Ottoman Timothy Grikov in Moscow May 15th 1774' The inscription indicates that the sword was awarded for services to Catherine during the Pugachev Rebellion. Provenance: the sword belonged to Lord Alistair McAlpine and then passed into the collection of the Australian businessman Warren Anderson. Pugachev's Rebellion, also called the Peasants' War 1773–75 or Cossack Rebellion of 1773-75, was the principal revolt in a series of popular rebellions that took place in the Russian Empire after Catherine II seized power in 1762. It began as an organised insurrection of Yaik Cossacks headed by Yemelyan Pugachev, a disaffected ex-lieutenant of the Imperial Russian Army, against a background of profound peasant unrest and war with the Ottoman Empire. After initial success, Pugachev assumed leadership of an alternative government in the name of the assassinated Tsar Peter III and proclaimed an end to serfdom. This organized leadership presented a challenge to the imperial administration of Catherine II. The events have generated many stories in legend and literature, most notably Pushkin's historical novel  'The Captain's Daughter (1836). It was the largest peasant revolt in Russia's history.