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Nation : British
Local Price : £9500

Very Fine Scottish “Pinch of Snuff” Basket Hilted Sword. An attractive Scottish Officer's basket hilted sword dating to the second to third quarter periods of the 18th century. The sword is notable for its remarkably fine condition and is mounted with an imposing high quality blade. These swords were carried by Scottish officers on British Army service with Scottish Highland Regiments in Europe and in North America during the Seven Years War and the American Revolutionary War periods. The sword is one of a distinctive group of Scottish military officers' swords. The complex hilt structure consists of oval shaped apertures, mounted between structural guard bars, which are infilled with an elaborate lattice of finely wrought iron of lace-like delicacy which obscures the robust strength of the hilt structure. The pommel is of typical mid-18th century British military bun shape with an integral pommel button. The pommel neck sits tightly in a circle of iron onto which the upper arms of the basket guard are attached. The hilt type is the same as three others depicted in contemporary portraits. The first is dated between 1757 and 1763 called “The Pinch of Snuff” by William Delacour, after which the sword type gains its name. It shows an officer in a Highland regiment, probably on service in the Americas, with one tucked under his arm, whilst he pauses to take a pinch of snuff. The painting is illustrated in “History of Highland Dress”, John Telfer Dunbar, Oliver & Boyd 1962, Plate 47. The second shows Colonel William Gordon of Fyvie, in the uniform of the Queens Own Royal Regiment of Highlanders, painted in Rome by Pompeo Batoni in 1766, and illustrated in “The Clans of Scotland”, Micheil MacDonald, Brian Trodd Publishing, 1991, Page 108. The third is a painting of an officer in Highland military uniform, circa 1780, auctioned by Christies (“Pictures of Scottish Interest”, Glasgow, 2nd April 1969, (lot 1) and now in the National Museums of Scotland. The earliest dated sword of this type that we know of, is a silver hilted example with the maker’s initials stamped as “TB”, with London hallmarks for 1745, which sold through Thomas Del Mar Auctions in London in December 2014 (lot 330). This example does not have frontal loop guards and may be an English variant but nevertheless shows that the hilt type had arrived by the second quarter of the 18th century. It thrived until circa 1780. Clearly the sword type was popular with the Scottish officer class at a time when Scottish regiments were increasingly being mobilised by the British Army for service abroad. The tapering single edged blade is unmarked and of exceptional quality retaining much of its original polished finish. It is just under 36 inches (91 cm) long with a short ricasso from which a long broad fuller extends to the tip where the blade develops a false back edge a short distance before. The attractive wooden baluster shaped grip is spirally grooved, covered with shagreen, and bound with a length of twisted copper wire with a narrower band on each side and finished with woven copper “Turks Heads” mounted top and bottom. The hilt has a shaped liner made from red cloth backed with leather stitched together with the remnants of a blue silken hem at the edge. The hilt type was manufactured with two styles of frontal guard loop. One form being a plate fashioned into loops, pierced with a diamond or heart shape, and secured to the hilt by three screws as in the manner of our sword hilt, and those illustrated in the Batoni and Christies Glasgow portraits. The bottom of the hilt in the Delacour painting is obscured by the clothing of the sitter and the loop guard assembly is not visible. In the second form the loops are integral to the hilt as in a sword illustrated in “Scottish Swords and Dirks”, John Wallace, Arms and Armour Press, 1970, fig 44. Overall the sword is 41.75 inches (106 cm) long. The condition overall is very fine with some parts of the hilt and blade exhibiting minor age blemishes in places.

Nation : British
Local Price : £9500

Very Rare Type of Scottish Officers’ Basket Hilted Sword dating to the Second Quarter of the 18th century. A robust Scottish Infantry Officers’ Basket Hilted Sword of a rare and distinctive design. The sword is unusual in that it is a true “attic find” preserved in original “as found” condition as the photographs show. The hilt style is unique to our knowledge but displays some features similar to the hilts produced in the workshop of Walter Allan of Stirling towards the middle and into the third quarters of the 18th century, and was most likely made in Stirling. The basket guard is typical for Scottish hilts of the time forged from thick iron structural bars consisting of a knucklebow, side guard bars which extend downwards into the forward loop guards, rear guard bars, secondary rear guard bars and a downward facing wrist guard with a scrolled flattened terminal emanating from the rear quillon. The knucklebow and side guard bars converge at the top at the pommel ring inside which the neck of the plain dome-shaped pommel sits which has a ribbed button on top. The uniqueness lies in the absence of the two frontal guard plates usually found to the left and right of the knucklebow on traditional Scottish hilts. These have been replaced by convex crescents on each side which join top and bottom to create an oval shape with subsidiary crescents on the inside joined onto a central oblong panel decorated with frets at the edges and horizontal lines. The structure is further strengthened by a fretted horizontal bar which extends from each side guard bar across the front. The spaces between the crescent edges and the side guard bars are filled with a lozenge shaped vertical bar with counter facing merlons top and bottom with a diamond shape between the merlon crescents at the top and a heart at the bottom. The spaces between the side guard bars and the rear guard bars are filled with a similar lozenge with merlons and a heart beneath with a similar facing merlon near the top after which the bar extends to join the rear guard bar at the top. Underneath a rectangular groove has been cut into the hilt in the Scottish manner to accommodate and secure the shoulders of the ricasso of the blade. The inside of the hilt assembly is a wonderful survivor. The wooden core of the grip is spirally fluted and covered with shagreen. Once bound with metal wire this is now missing. The shagreen at the top of the grip has worn away at the place where most friction would be caused by the base of the palm of the hand of the user near the wrist by holding the sword in a usual manner on many occasions over a long period of time during the working life of the sword. The grip retains its original red and blue woollen fringe between the top of the grip and pommel base pressed into its present shape over the period of use. The full liner is of early form with a thick leather base onto which is stitched the secondary lining of thinner leather fronted with red cloth and with the remains of a blue silken hem around the edge in a few places. The secondary inside leather is now fragile, torn and the stitching distressed. The cloth exterior has an old layer of dust and accumulated age visible beneath the front of the basket guard. The 35 inch (89 cm) single edged blade has a short ricasso near the hilt with fullers inside each blunt edge. Two central fullers extend from the hilt for 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) inside each of which the blade maker’s name “ANDRIA FARARA” is stamped interspersed with stamped stars. A “Running Wolf” is clearly incised beyond the fullers on one side and repeated, although now less visible, on the reverse. It seems that the blade is of late 17th / early 18th century date and was double edged when it was made. It was most likely refurbished for mounting onto this sword as was common practice in Scotland in re-utilising old blades as fashions changed. Towards the mid 18th century “backsword” blades were increasing in number and this blade has had its back edge filed down to create the blunt spine which tapers to the tip. The sword is well balanced in hand and 41.5 inches (105.5 cm) long overall. The hilt retains its accumulated russet patina which has gathered since the sword was de-commissioned which somewhat disguises the overall high quality of its design and construction. The sword is frozen in time in the second quarter of the 18th century and shows how the Scottish basket hilt continued to evolve to create this distinctive military style, some of the features of which, were adopted in later Scottish and English cavalry hilts as the basket hilt continued to evolve in the third quarter of the 18th century.

Nation : British
Local Price : £9,450.00

Volunteer Baker Flintlock Rifle by I. Gill, fine. SN 9021. A Fine Volunteer Baker Flintlock Rifle by I. Gill. 46&157; overall, 30&157; 16 bore 7 groove twist barrel stamped with Tower Private and Ordnance proofs at breech and&194;&160; blade fore sight, block for bayonet on the underside of muzzle, leaf rear sights, one fixed and two hinged, the hinged leaves with V’s to top and sighting holes at a lower level, flat bevelled lock border line engraved, with stepped tail signed ’I. GILL’ and Crown G.R. cypher, semi waterproof pan, roller to frizzen, a ring neck cock, detented action. Regulation brass mounted, figured, full walnut stock without slit for ramrod, with raised cheek rest, small brass patch box lid, the wrist escutcheon engraved ’T. W. W. IIII’, sling swivels and iron ramrod. Circa 1802&194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160;&194;&160; This is a superior example with a fine stock, barrel&194;&160; rebrowned. Bore good with seven grooves making one turn in 30&157;. (standard Baker is 1/4 turn in 30&157;.). Made to be used with a socket bayonet. Provenance: This rifle was produced for a volunteer rifle company by John Gill of Birmingham who took over the family business from his father Thomas Gill in mid-1801. A quantity of these Baker rifles were sold at Sotheby’s many years back and spread over a number of sales. There were two different grades, the superior grade such as this example had fast twist rifling, detented actions and superior sights. The standard grade had normal Baker rifling, standard sight and actions, all were marked "T. W. W" and a number. Apparently a quantity had been brought into Sotheby’s by a couple who had bought a large country house and found a rack of these rifles in one of the outhouses.&194;&160; Images courtesy of West Street Antiques (https://antiquearmsandarmour.com/)

Nation : British
Local Price : £8995

Click and use the code 24421 to search for this item on the dealer website Original, Rare, 4th Century Roman Legionary´s Sword. An Amazing Original Sword of The Roman Empire

Nation : German
Local Price : $8995.00

German Two-handed Sword, Last Quarter 16th C. Impressive and heavy Landsknecht “Zweihander”of gigantic proportions. German and Swiss Landsknechts (mercenaries) of the 15th and 16th Centuries usually carried two swords. The smaller sword, the Katzbalger, was used primarily for one-on-one combat. The second sword, the huge Zweihander (two hander), was often used to attack pike squares, cutting the heads off the pikes to make them vulnerable to cavalry attack. Only the biggest and strongest soldiers carried these massive swords, which could cut a man in half with one blow. Soldiers who carried these were known as Doppelsoldner, or double soldier, because they received double pay for their strength and expertise. This example features iron hilt with original blackening. Quillons and large side rings formed of diamond-section bars; the quillons each with three scrolled finials. Fleur de lis on each side extending from the quillon block within the side rings (old collection tag attached). Spiral twisted wood grip with its original leather wrap (worn, dry, and flaking) and the remains of textile tassels at the top and bottom. Segmented conical pommel with rounded top and button finial. Iron parts chiseled with simple floral and geometric decoration. Double-edged 48″ blade of lens section with stamped maker's mark on each side and two large side lugs, showing lamination and widening at the point. The long flat ricasso with its original wood and leather covering (dry with losses). Guard is loose due to shrinkage of the wood and leather over time. Overall length 64″. A large and impressive sword in untouched original condition.

Nation : German
Local Price : £8995

Click and use the code 24623 to search for this item on the dealer website Exceptional 1700 to 1600 Year Old Spartha Sword of A Warrior of the Roman Empire´s Invasions by the Huns and Visigoths. A Hun or Visigoth Horseman´s Sword Spartha With Its Lifstein, the Magical Life-Stone, and Original Crossguard

Nation : British
Local Price : £8950

Click and use the code 22607 to search for this item on the dealer website Exceptionally Beautiful Gold Hilted Sword With &#acute;Laminated Damascus&#acute; Pattern Steel Blade. A Sword of Highest Museum Quality. An Indian Prince´s Tulwar, Accompanied With His Oriental Annual 1838

Nation : Japanese
Local Price : £8750

Click and use the code 23998 to search for this item on the dealer website Fine Shinto Samurai Katana Signed By Mino Swordsmith, Nodagoro Fujiwara Kanesada Circa 1720 Around 300 Years Old, With a Horai-zu Style Tsuba

Nation : Japanese
Local Price : £8750

Click and use the code 24044 to search for this item on the dealer website What an An Exceptional Katana, And a Great Privilege to Own, A Sword Bearing the Name of Bizen Osafune Ju Yokoyama Sukenaga with a Breathtakingly Beautiful Choji Midare Hamon

Nation : Austrian
Local Price : £8,750.00

Snaphaunce Musket c1630. A very rare early Snaphaunce Musket c1630 possibly earlier and Austrian or German. The musket is full stocked with a curve profile below the barrel line running the full length and with iron ramrod pipes, pins and muzzle end. The ramrod in original with horn tip matching the inlay to the stock. The barrel with excellent engraved decoration to the beech and flared muzzle. The stock with sliding small patch box with basic catch and a named detailed in ink Von ?? possibly the Austrian – German connection however the stock is stamped with A P and under the lock L H which could indicate the property of Col Alexander Popham of Littlecote House c 1605 – 1669 complete with iron large trigger guard and trigger Please note the lock has been cleaned and a small age repair to the forend which is hardly visible overall length 44 inches 112cm the barrel 37.75 inches 88cm

Nation : Italian
Local Price : $8500.00

Rare Venetian Hand-and-a-half Sword, ca. 1490. Featuring hand-forged iron hilt of half-round and diamond-section bars with single side ring joined to a large pas d'ane. Single quillon with scroll finial, short knuckle bow ensuite and a diagonal bar extending from the base of the knuckle bow to the center of the side ring with a grasping hand at the junction. Large iron pommel of schiavona style; leather-wrapped wood grip. Broad 39 5/8″ double-edged blade with half-length central fuller, stamped with an “S” maker's mark on both sides on the ricasso (reverse strike weak). In a modern wood storage scabbard with collection label at the throat. Overall length 47 7/8″, not inlcuding scabbard. Very good condition for its age and does not appear to have ever been apart; the hilt with dark brown patina, blade moderately pitted with a few shallow edge nicks. Grip wrap possibly an old replacement. For similar Venetian swords, see “Armi Bianche Italiane”. The “S” mark is found on other Venetian swords of the late 15th Century.

Nation : ?
Local Price : $7995.00

Fine European Horseman’s Rapier/Broadsword, ca. 1630. Blackened steel hilt featuring large angled oval side ring extending upward from the base of the large pas d'ane; the opposite side with asymmetrical side ring connected diagonally to the quillon. Each side ring is filled with a pierced and chiseled plate depicting scrolling foliage. Vertically recurved quillons and an additional side ring on the obverse connecting from the quillon block diagonally to the base of the opposite pas d'ane. Conical fluted pommel chiseled with a flower blossom on top and surmounted with a small button. Obverse of hilt chiseled with classic foliate design and bordered with inlaid silver dots; pommel decorated ensuite. Original grip wrap of alternating twisted iron wire and single strand copper wire, finished with copper Turks heads top and bottom. Broad, tapering 35 1/4″ double-edged blade of flattened diamond section, the ricasso with fluted border and stamped with a crowned “S” mark and “CAINO” (difficult to see under the guard). Very good original condition, the hilt with some rust patination and retaining most of its original blackening; the blade moderately pitted. Overall length 41 3/4″ (106 cm). High quality workmanship as appropriate for an officer of means, with a broad blade meant for battle. The blade definitely Italian, the hilt either German or Italian. Pietro Caino was active in Milan in the second half of the 16th Century. There is also the town of Caino in northeast Brescia, and it is believed that blades were also produced in that area. However, the crowned “S” mark is typically attributed to Pietro Caino of Milan.

Nation : Japanese
Local Price : £7995

Click and use the code 24820 to search for this item on the dealer website Superb Shinto Period Samurai Katana By Bizen Osafune Sukesada, Named By The Swordsmith, Likely For its Original Samurai Owner

Nation : -
Local Price : $7995.00

Fine and Rare Landsknecht “Katzbalgar” Broadsword, First Quarter 16th C. The Lansknechts were Germanic mercenary soldiers with a fierce reputation. Their primary weapons were the pike, the “Zweihander” (two-handed sword), and the “Katzbalgar” short sword made for close quarters fighting. They typically featured an S- shaped guard, flared grip and pommel, and double-edged 28″ – 31″ blade with rounded point, though numerous variations exist. It was primarily a cutting weapon, therefore a sharp point was not needed and is rarely found. This is one of the finest examples we have ever encountered, either in a museum or in private hands. The iron guard is hand- forged, showing lamination, of the typical roped S-shape, however, the quillons are longer than usual and bent downward toward the point, with large spirally fluted ball finials. Original flared wood grip with large base ferrule and large capstan pommel with a roped base and pyramid-shaped button. Hilt is tight, with no movement and does not appear to have ever been apart. Double-edged 28 ½” blade of lens section with rounded point and 7 1/4″ central fuller bordered by incised lines and a series of punched dots. Long ricasso, bordered by deeply incised lines and stamped with three four-leaf clover-shaped marks on both sides. There are another four stamped crosses on one side just beyond the fuller. Overall length 33 ½”. Shows great age, yet remains in very good original condition with nothing loose. Similar examples pictured in “Europaische Hieb-und Stich-Waffen” by Muller, Kolling, and Platow, #95 & 97. Provenance: Sold by Antiques Armory of Malta in 2017.

Nation : British
Local Price : £7995

Click and use the code 23230 to search for this item on the dealer website Circa 600 ad Middle Ages Sword Blade, Re-Hilted Around 1000 Years Ago At The Time of the Norman Invasion in 1066

Nation : British
Local Price : £7995

Click and use the code 22370 to search for this item on the dealer website Original, Incredibly Rare ´Damascus´ Presentation Sword, Presented to the German Fuhrer of 1898, An Imperial German, Damascus Steel, Blue & Gilt, Presentation Fuhrer´s Sword. Set With Genuine Rubies and Silver Crossed Cannon

Nation : British
Local Price : £7995

Click and use the code 23371 to search for this item on the dealer website Fabulous Quality King George IIIrd Cased Double Barrel Sporting Gun By World Renowned Gunsmith S.Nock, Early Transitional Flintlock To Percussion

Nation : -
Local Price : £7,950.00

Pair of flintlock Pistols by Winckhler – Munich c 1700. Three stage barrels octagonal then round with muzzle rings blued and rifled cal 13mm. Brass outlined master&#acute;s mark appears above each powder chamber in the form of a standing lion below W between the signature Hanns Winchhler. Curved locks the floral engraved domed lock plates with masks. Adjustable back triggers one spring tired lightly carved walnut stocks with dark horn fore-end caps plus open iron work decoration on the side plates complete with ramrods with horn tips overall length of each pistol 53.5cm. Hans Winckhler is known in Munich between 1680 and 1710. Early pair of pistols in beautiful condition.

Nation : Spanish
Local Price : £7950

Click and use the code 22160 to search for this item on the dealer website Possibly The Finest 17th Century Silver Sword Cum Plug-Bayonet, Complete With It&#acute;s Original Scabbard & Belt Mount, Outside of the Royal Collection..

Nation : Japanese
Local Price : £7950

Click and use the code 21795 to search for this item on the dealer website Wonderful & Captivating Ancient Samurai Sword of the Nambokochu Era Circa 1370

Nation : British
Local Price : £7750

Early 18th Century Scottish Basket Hilted Sword in the “Glasgow” Style. An early 18th century Scottish Basket Hilted sword of fine quality workmanship mounted with a broad single edged blade. The sword dates to around the time of the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion. The main structural bars of the guard are of thick flattened rectangular section. These are decorated on the outside with broad filed longitudinal grooves along the middle with narrower incised lines on either side in what has become known to historians as the distinctive “Glasgow Style” of hilt decoration. This style was developed by sword makers in Glasgow in the second half of the 17th century and continued until the third quarter of the 18th century. The style was adopted by the most skilled smiths in other sword making centres in Scotland and was also copied by the British military for some of its own basket hilted swords made in the Scottish style in the mid-18th century. Filing and incising the bars in this manner was a time consuming and skilled task demanding many hours of work and reserved only for the best and most expensive hilts. The primary guard panels at the front of this sword are decorated with a pierced quatrefoil at the centre, surrounded by pierced triangle and circle shapes. The narrower side guard panels and the knucklebow are pierced with diamond, triangle and circle shapes plus grooves and incised lines running from top to bottom. All of the panels are finely cut with fretted edges. The side guard bars have merlons mounted at the base with the flattened ends filed with cusps and pierced with flanged hearts. The forward loop guards are decorated in the “Glasgow” manner, and underneath, the cross bar is cut with crescents and lines which surround the groove made to accommodate the blade into the hilt. The rear quillon terminates in a bold downward scrolled wrist guard. The basket hilt of our sword has been intentionally forged to appear slightly asymmetrical when viewed from the front, with the basket appearing swollen to the right compared to the left, indicating that the hilt was made for a right hand user. The swollen side of the hilt accommodates the fingers of the right hand whereas the opposite side needs only to accommodate the thumb which takes up less space inside the hilt. The cone shaped pommel has a ribbed button on top from which three sets of triple grooves radiate to the edge in the same “Glasgow” manner. The guard arm terminals tuck securely into a groove cut around the lower part of the pommel in the Scottish style. The grip is formed with a spirally grooved wooden core, is covered with shagreen, bound with flattened silver wire and is mounted on a thick leather liner. The tapering single edged blade is 32.25 inches long (82 cm) and just over 1.5 inches (4 cm) wide at the ricasso. It was most likely made in a workshop in Solingen in Germany. The middle fuller on both sides has the mark of “ANDRIA FERARA” spaced by dot and cross marks. The fullers above and below are incised with crescents, trefoils of dots and crosses. Beyond the end of the fullers on each side is an incised orb and cross mark which retains some original copper inlay. The blade was once double edged and broader than it presently is at over 2 inches (over 5 cm) wide at the hilt. It dates to the mid to late 17th century, and its manufacture predates the hilt on which it is mounted by some decades. During the early 18th century “back sword”, or single edged, blades became increasingly common. They were probably less expensive to make than double edged blades and became fashionable for both clan, civilian and military markets in Scotland. The blade of the sword described here was purposely narrowed all along one side to create a back edge by grinding away half an inch of blade width at the ricasso, which removed the ricasso fuller on that side, and proportionately slimmed the blade to its tip. The three fullers are now not running along the middle as would be usual with a broad sword blade, but instead are nearer to the back edge than the cutting edge as a result of this modification. This alteration to the blade may have been prompted by a need to refurbish the blade before mounting onto the hilt in the early 18th century. For instance should the cutting edge have been damaged, the damage would be filed out, and turned into a back edge. But more likely, it was slimmed to suit the new fashion. The groove underneath the hilt made to secure the shoulders of the ricasso is made to accommodate the altered blade. So it may be assumed that the blade was amended to a more modern style for the hilt and the hilt was made for the blade. The altered blade gives a slightly unbalanced profile in that the blade front edge is positioned more forward towards the loop guards than is usual for the profile of a basket hilted sword mounted with an unaltered broad sword blade. Swords with amended blades of this type, with similar profiles, are not unusual judging by the number that have survived. The famous portrait of Lord George Murray, Prince’s Charles’s Lieutenant General in the Jacobite Army in the 1745 Rebellion, seems to show Murray armed with a sword mounted with a similarly altered blade as can be seen by the position of the fullers relative to the cutting edge. See the photos below. The overall length of the sword is 38.25 inches (97 cm). For swords with similar hilts see Cyril Mazansky, “British Basket-Hilted Swords”, Boydell Press, 2005, particularly some illustrated in pages 107 to 126.

Nation : Spanish
Local Price : £7750

Click and use the code 21774 to search for this item on the dealer website Singularly Beautiful Napoleonic Wars, The Peninsular Campaign, & The War of 100 Days Culminating at Quatre Bras & Waterloo, A Presentation Quality 1796-1803 Sword 15th Hussars

Nation : German
Local Price : £7500

Fine German Swept Hilt Rapier dating to circa 1600. A fine, imposing and attractive German Swept Hilt Rapier dating to circa 1600. The rapier is a nicely balanced and well forged weapon in original condition with a consistent smooth grey mottled patination all over having never been invasively cleaned. The hilt type is illustrated in many portraits of late 16th / early 17th century date located across Europe including England, Scandinavia and the German States. This indicates that the swept hilt rapier was very popular amongst the social elites in countries across the region at the time. The rapier retains its full length 46.5 inch (118 cm) imposing blade. The overall length is 52.5 inches (133.5 cm). The complex hilt is an elegant example of the armourers' craft formed with attractive flowing curved bars of rounded octagonal section. The hilt is built around the strong quillon block which has short downwardly pointing langets which lie either side of the ricasso. Two straight quillons extend from the block, filed with decorative ribs at the join, and swell gently towards their terminals. To the front the knuckle bow curves upwards to the pommel and has a similarly swollen terminal. Beneath the block two outwardly curved symmetrical finger, or pas d' ane rings, extend downwards and terminate in square pads at the end of the ricasso. The outer guard consists of three ring guards and the inner guard of two circles joined by curved bars. These features on each side are supported by subsidiary bars which converge on the pas d’ane ring terminal pads which are engraved with cross-hatching on the outside. The hilt is further strengthened by two upper side guard bars, which are forged onto the outer edges of the outer and inner guard assemblies, and curve upwards to join the bow just above half way. The multifaceted ovoid pommel has an integral waisted button on top and a grooved flared neck beneath. The original spirally grooved wooden grip tapers slightly towards the pommel and is of oval cross section, laterally bound with thin twisted steel wire, which is further bound with contra-twisted wire ropes depressed into the grooves with the ends secured underneath “Turks Heads” mounted top and bottom woven from steel rope. The gently tapering blade is of fine quality. It is of stiff section intended primarily for thrusting and secondly for cutting. The thickened ricasso has a deep central groove extending from the hilt to the pas d'ane ring terminals on each side. Beyond these the blade broadens with a short external extension of the ricasso, after which a deep central fuller extends along each side for 17.5 inches (44.5 cm). The fullers are stamped with indistinct bladesmith’s identity letters and marks inside. Beyond the fuller terminals a mark resembling an anchor is stamped on each side after which the blade is of flattened diamond section to its tip. A small patch of minor old pitting is present on one of the secondary guard bars attached to the knucklebow as can be seen in the images. Otherwise the rapier is in fine condition. For more information regarding other examples and locations of rapiers, and depictions of rapiers, of this type, see A.V.B. Norman, “The Rapier and Small-Sword 1460-1820”, Arms & Armour Press, 1980, pp. 120 to 140.

Nation : British
Local Price : £7500

Late 17th Century Scottish Basket Hilted Sword in the “Glasgow” Style. A late 17th century Scottish Basket Hilted sword. The hilt is of fine quality workmanship and mounted with a broad single edged blade. The structural bars of the guard are of thick flattened rectangular section. These are decorated on the outside with broad filed longitudinal grooves along the middle with narrower incised lines on either side in what has become known to historians as the distinctive “Glasgow Style” of hilt decoration. The sword has a consistent dark russet patination across its parts. This style was developed by sword makers in Glasgow in the second half of the 17th century and flourished until the third quarter of the 18th century. The style was adopted by the most skilled smiths in other sword making centres in Scotland and was also copied by the British military for some of its own basket hilted swords made in the Scottish style in the mid-18th century. Filing and incising the bars in this manner was a time consuming and skilled task demanding many hours of work and reserved only for the best and most expensive hilts. The primary guard panels at the front of this sword are decorated with a pierced seven pointed star at the centre, surrounded by pierced triangles enhanced with circle shapes at the sides and circles in the corners. The narrower side guard panels and the knucklebow are pierced with similar shapes. The main guard panels are filed in “Glasgow” style at the sides. The side guards are filed the same across the top and bottom and the knucklebow across the base. These three secondary panels are enhanced with vertical lines. All five of the primary and secondary guard plates are fretted at the edges with cusps and merlons. The side panels have structural solid merlons mounted at the base with the flattened ends filed with cusps and pierced with flanged hearts. The forward loop guards are decorated in the “Glasgow” manner, and underneath, the cross bar is enhanced with a cut loop which surrounds the groove made to accommodate the blade into the hilt. The sloping rear quillon is decorated with a cross. The upper surface of the rear quillon has a piece of metal attached to the bar by two rivets. The rear quillon of early basket hilts like this one was not mounted with a scrolled wrist guard which is a later feature in basket hilt development. It seems that in the later working life of the sword an attempt was made to attach a wrist guard to the hilt which was only partially successful having been broken off at some point leaving the riveted stump behind. The basket has been intentionally forged to appear slightly asymmetrical when viewed from the front and back, with the basket appearing swollen more to the right compared to the left, indicating that the hilt was made for a right hand user. The swollen side of the hilt accommodates the fingers of the right hand whereas the opposite side needs only to accommodate the thumb which takes up less space inside the hilt. The dome shaped pommel has a ribbed button on top from which three sets of triple grooves radiate to the edge in the same “Glasgow” manner. The spaces between are cut with similar grooves in crescent shapes. The guard arm terminals tuck securely into a groove cut around the lower part of the pommel in the Scottish style. The associated grip is formed with a spirally grooved wooden core, is covered with shagreen, bound with flattened silver wire and is mounted on a thick leather liner. The tapering single edged blade is 31.75 inches long (81 cm) and just under 1.75 inches (just over 4.25 cm) wide at the ricasso which is 1.25 inches long (just over 3 cm) and has fullers on each side just inside from the edges. It was most likely made in Solingen in Germany. From the end of the ricasso a shallow central fuller extends for 8 inches (20 cm) flanked by narrower well defined grooves. The middle fuller on both sides is stamped with the blade smith’s mark of “ANDRIA FERARA” spaced by quatrefoils of dots. Beyond the end of the fullers on each side is an incised orb and cross mark which retains some of the original copper inlay on one side. It shows evidence of a lot of use and sharpening on the cutting edge. The blade was originally double edged and broader than it is now at around 2 inches (5 cm) wide at the hilt. It dates to the mid to late 17th century. It was intentionally ground down all along one side during its working life to create a back edge by removing around half an inch of blade width at the ricasso and a proportionate amount down to the tip. The three fullers are now not running along the middle as would be usual with a broad sword blade of this type, but instead are nearer to the regressed back edge than the cutting edge as a result of the modification. The groove underneath the hilt designed to accommodate and secure the ricasso has vacant space at the back edge which previously would have been occupied by the blade width now shaved away. During the early 18th century “back sword”, or single edged, blades became increasingly common. They were less expensive to make than double edged blades and became fashionable for both clan, civilian and military markets in Scotland. The blade may have been slimmed to suit the new fashion. But it is more likely that the sword was damaged and refurbished at some time which involved smoothing deep nicks out of the front of the blade, which absorbs most contact when in use, to create a back edge, then reversing the blade in the hilt. The altered blade gives a slightly unbalanced profile in that the blade front edge now appears to be positioned more forward towards the loop guards than is usual for the profile of a basket hilted sword mounted with an unaltered broad sword blade. There is a repair to the top of one of the guard bars at the pommel which may have been carried out at the same time. Swords with amended blades of this type, with similar profiles, are not unusual judging by the number that have survived. The famous portrait of Lord George Murray, Prince’s Charles’s Lieutenant General in the Jacobite Army in the 1745 Rebellion, seems to show Murray armed with a sword mounted with a similarly altered blade, as can be seen by the position of the fullers relative to the cutting edge. See the photos below. The overall length of the sword is 37.5 inches (just over 95 cm). For swords with similar hilts see Cyril Mazansky, “British Basket-Hilted Swords”, Boydell Press, 2005, particularly some illustrated in pages 107 to 126.

Nation : Japanese
Local Price : £7450

Click and use the code 24472 to search for this item on the dealer website Superb 15th Century, Ancient, Signed Samurai Sword, From the Famous Sukesada Line of Early Samurai Sword Smiths

Nation : Japanese
Local Price : £7450

Click and use the code 24723 to search for this item on the dealer website Beautiful Ancient Samurai Long Sword, A Koto Period Katana Around 500 Years Old Sengoku Period With All Original Edo Period Mounts & Fittings

Nation : Spanish
Local Price : £7350

Click and use the code 24093 to search for this item on the dealer website Beautiful, Inscribed, Elizabethan Tudor & Renaissance Nobleman&#acute;s Rapier 16th Century, Circa 1570

Nation : British
Local Price : £7000

Scottish Basket Hilted Sword dating to circa 1730. An attractive Scottish Basket Hilted Sword dating to the second quarter of the 18th century mounted with a broad triple fullered “ANDRIA FERARA” marked blade. The robust hilt is formed from well forged structural bars which emanate from the cross guard and consist of a knuckle bow, and two side guard bars, which converge at the pommel rim to be secured in a groove chiselled around the pommel just below its waist. To the back a rear guard bar is applied plus a secondary bar behind which a flattened, scrolled, downward facing wrist guard extends from the rear quillon. Forward loop guards are applied to the front which extend from the bottom of the side guard bars and attach to the front quillon. The frontal guard plates are mounted either side of the knuckle bow and cut with lined borders and pierced with quatrefoil shapes in each corner, inwardly pointed triangles with circular top corners form flanged heart shapes applied between, and a further quatrefoil is applied in the centre. The knucklebow and side guard plates are pierced with similar shapes on the flat surfaces with a larger heart shape pierced into a panel at the base of the side guard bars inside merlons. The cross guard has a pronounced rake which is an early feature in the evolution of Scottish basket hilted swords. The cone shaped pommel has a ribbed flattened button on top from which radiates four sets of equally spaced grooves flanked with narrow incised lines. Further grooves and lines applied in a similar manner form chevrons in the spaces between. A few finishing features indicate the higher than usual quality of the hilt. The hilt is made from thicker than usual iron which not only makes the guard more robust but requires more skill for the swordsmith to manufacture. The saltire bars which hold the frontal guard plates in place are gadrooned with two sets of grooves in each case formed in similar style to the grooves on the pommel. Similar grooves are filed into the flattened tops of the guard arm bars near the pommel which are also fretted with delicate edges of cusped merlons. The spirally grooved wooden grip tapers from its base to the top, is covered with shagreen and bound with flattened steel ribbon. A ribbed iron ferrule is mounted at the top and a leather liner beneath the grip at the bottom. The broad tapering blade is 32.25 inches (82 cm) long. It is double edged with a short ricasso and a triple fuller marked “ANDRIA FERARA” in the middle fuller on each side and with indistinct letters and dots in the fullers above and below and crosses between. The blade is slightly pitted towards the hilt and at the tip on each side with the spaces between exhibiting a more pronounced blackened pitted surface of the type that forms when a blade has been left unattended in its scabbard for too long. The scabbard is made of stitched leather and is fragile where it has a repair near the chape. It requires careful handling when drawing and sheathing the sword but otherwise holds together. The mouthpiece has a decorative finial to the front with the remains of tooled designs in the leather below and a suspension loop at the rear. The chape is made in a similar style.

Nation : Japanese
Local Price : £6950

Click and use the code 24473 to search for this item on the dealer website Most Beautiful, Elegant & Breathtaking Shinto Period Yamato Katana With All Original Edo Period Sword Mounts. Brown Ishime Stone Finish Lacquer Saya & The Blade Shows Incredible Running Grain, Called, in Fine Damascus Steel Circles ´Maiden Hair&acut

Nation : Indian
Local Price : £9¸000

Beautiful Antique Silver Indo-Persian Rulers Sword. Beautiful Antique Silver Indo-Persian Rulers Sword\"This is a long curved¸ early antique Mughal Blade and is very rare. It is almost last 17th and early 18th century old sword and belongs to North India (at that time). The Hilt of this sword is called kuftgari hilt and is Silver.

Nation : North European
Local Price : £6850

Fine North European Military Sword “Tessak” Dating To Circa 1600. A fine North European military sword dating to circa 1600. The hilt type conforms to the general group also known as “Sinclair Sables”, with which the ill-fated Scottish mercenary expedition to Norway was equipped in 1612. Surviving swords are mounted mainly with curved, and more infrequently with straight blades, as is this piece. This is a good example, in original condition, well balanced and practical whilst aesthetically pleasing to the eye. A sword with an identical hilt is illustrated in “The Price Guide To Antique Edged Weapons”, Leslie Southwick, Antique Collectors Club, 1982, page 139, fig 374. The imposing gently tapering blade is just over 37 inches (94 cm) long and is single edged for half of its length after which it becomes double edged to its tip. The blade is of thick stiff construction capable of being used both for cutting, thrusting through mail and teasing through the joints in plate armour. On one side the worn mark of a cross in raised relief inside a panel is stamped and corresponds with the mark of Wundes Theis a German maker recorded as working in Solingen in the 16th century. The well executed and complex hilt has a broad quillon span of 9.5 inches (24 cm). The quillons are well formed of octagonal section swelling towards the ends and terminating in delicate waisted bands and large globular terminals with the surfaces filed into a complex trellis in raised relief terminating in small knops. The quillons are vertically counter-curved with the front quillon turned upwards and the rear quillon faced downwards to form a wristguard. Guard plates are attached to the quillon block either side. A thumb loop is applied to one side and the knuckle bow turns upwards from the top of the front quillon to form a scrolled terminal at the pommel. The solid pommel is mushroom shaped with a flared waisted neck below. It is skilfully incised with a seven sided floret on top and surrounded with similar raised trellis patterns in raised relief to those seen on the quillon terminals. The wooden grip retains its original shagreen cover now blackened with age. This is an interesting and rare sword which holds a place in the evolution of complex hilt design in the late 16th century. Overall length 43.25 inches (110 cm).

Nation : American
Local Price : £6800

Click and use the code 24795 to search for this item on the dealer website Original & Rare Flintlock ´Chief´s Grade´ Hudson&#acute;s Bay Co. Trade Musket. The Identical Form of Parker Field Trade Musket Used By Chief Sitting Bull of The Little Big Horn