 Preserved images of Szczerbiec from various points in time indicate that the decorative plates were several times dismounted and placed again on the hilt in variable configurations . The current composition , with the symbols of the Evangelists duplicated on each side of the hilt , matches that known from the earliest preserved depiction drafted by Johann Christoph Werner in 1794 . It is possible , though , that the original placement of the golden plates was different , with the symbols of Saints John and Matthew on the obverse of the grip , so that each side of the hilt displayed the symbols of all four of the Evangelists . 
