Cliquetis is another HERMES carre that has become an icon in its own right.  Sadly, along with that, it has also become probably one of the most copied designs of the Parisian Fashion House.  Just a cautionary note, if you have just recently fallen in love with the Hermes Carre, please be careful not to purchase any Cliquetis, that sports the Hermes name in bold letters across the entire scarf.  A sure sign that you are dealing with a FAKE!

*Thankfully, the seller did advertise it as a fake, but sadly someone actually purchased it… 🙂

Back to the inspiration behind Cliquetis.  Cliquetis translates to clatter more or less.

Looking at the scarf, I can almost hear the clatter these swords and sabers might make strung together the way Madame Abadie did on her carre.  The difference between a saber and a sword you ask?

At least the way I understand it is that a sword is a very old weapon dating back to sometime BC, it is straight and designed to thrust.  A saber, on the other hand, is a much more modern invention, think 18th century France.  It is typically curved, sports a larger handguard and its curved blade was designed to primarily slice.

The saber became extremely important during Napoleon’s Empire and almost every soldier had one.  The saber played a huge role in many of his battles including Waterloo.

It was during Napoleon, that officers began to personalize their sabers and swords and thus making the task of identifying them with a specific regiment or army corps much more difficult.  Consequently, large numbers of non-regulatory models exist from that period.  In general, however, the saber was considered par excellence the weapon of chivalry, while the sword was reserved for general officers and, in particular under the Consulate and the Empire, represented more than anything a symbol of civil and military authority.

Julia’s carre represents only some of these models, but certainly enough to give us an idea of the variety of types that were in circulation at the time of the Empire. Two of the most common sabers are located in the bottom row; the first left is a Navy sword, hence the anker and the third one would have most likely belonged to a senior officer of the Imperial Guard.  It is the one with the shell hilt.

I would also like to mention the sabretache in the right corner.

Yes, the same sabertache we find in Joachim Metz’s Poste et Cavalerie.  To read more about the Poste et Cavalerie and its sabertaches, please follow the link.

Happy reading.