This looks like a tailors’ pattern but is more likely to be a drawing made from an actual sabretache of the 5th Bengal Light Cavalry. It agrees with the painting by Henry Martens, of Captain T L Harington on his charger. The scroll for JELLALABAD at the top appears to radiate from the mural crown which traditionally accompanied that battle honour as the action involved the defence of the fortress in Afghanistan in 1841-42. Below the crown is the Roman numeral V and then the foliated lettering BLC. The battle honour below that is CABOOL 1842. On the lace border at the base is PUNNIAR in a scroll. The whole sabretache is in silver except for the mural crown and the scroll for Punniar which are both in gold. The pattern of the silver lace surround is indicated as Herringbone Train lace.
