Antique Arms & Militaria

A Rare, Original, Ancient Viking Iron Battle Hammer-Axe. Around 1100 to 1200 Years Old. Almost Every Viking Warrior Used the Axe or Spear As Their Primary Combat Weapon. Swords Were the Prerogative of Kings or Earls {Jarls} A South West England Find

An original English Viking site find in the 1870's, but not recorded as to where in the South West of England {likely Somerset} it was actually recovered.

In 836 King Egbert of led an army to Carhampton in West Somerset against a Viking army from 35 landed long-ships, in the ensuing battle the King Egbert’s army was defeated and withdrew, leaving the Vikings to raid and plunder all the surrounding countryside. The suffering of the Anglo Saxon peasantry was terrible and lasted for many decades. It wasn't until 878 that an army under King Alfred fought and defeated Viking King Guthrum's army at Edlington in Wiltshire and they fled. It wasn't until 914 that the vikings returned once more to Somerest but they were once again defeated.

Renown scholar Alcuin of York was back at Charlemagne's court by at least mid-792, writing a series of letters, regarding the brutal Viking raid at Lindisfarne, to Æthelred, to Hygbald, Bishop of Lindisfarne, and to Æthelhard, Archbishop of Canterbury in the succeeding months, dealing with the Viking attack on Lindisfarne in July 793. These letters and Alcuin's poem on the subject, "De clade Lindisfarnensis monasterii", provide the only significant contemporary account of these events. In his description of the Viking attack, he wrote: "Never before has such terror appeared in Britain. Behold the church of St Cuthbert, splattered with the blood of God's priests, robbed of its ornaments.

The Vikings began arriving en masse with armies intent on conquest. These armies were led by Ivar the Boneless, Halfdan, and Ubba, three of the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok, who had been killed by the Northumbrian King Ælla. The first English city to fall to the invaders was York, conquered in 866. The Northumbrians tried in vain to retake the city, and King Ælla was killed in the process. One-by-one, other Saxon realms capitulated until virtually all of north and eastern England was under the direct control of the Danes.

At this point, the strongest Anglo-Saxon kingdom was Wessex, and upon the death of its king Æthelred, Alfred succeeded the throne and took the fight to the Vikings in England, who had begun annexing huge chunks of Mercia, an ally of Wessex. Alfred’s initial campaign against the Vikings was, however, a complete failure. Anglo-Saxon military tactics and defenses were incapable of dealing with Viking raids, and Alfred was eventually forced into hiding in the Somerset Marshes. The Vikings in England had succeeded in opening up the whole of Anglo-Saxon England to their mercy.
In 878, King Alfred came out of hiding and met with the lords still loyal to his cause. During his time in the Somerset Marshes, he had carefully planned a major counter-offensive against the Danish Viking army under Guthrum. Alfred’s campaign was successful, and Guthrum’s army was beaten, first in the field at Edington and then starved into submission at Chippenham. Several years later, a boundary was established, dividing England in two, with one half under Anglo-Saxon control and the other half, known as the Danelaw, under the control of the Vikings.

King Alfred organized better defenses, as well as a powerful free-standing army better equipped to deal with Viking tactics. As a result, subsequent raids and a major invasion attempt were thwarted. The Vikings who were part of this invasion attempt either ended up settling in Danelaw or sailing to Normandy and settling there.
Beyer, Greg. "The Vikings in England (Or were they Danes?)" TheCollector.com, March 11, 2023, https://www.thecollector.com/danes-or-vikings-in-england/

Title page of a late manuscript of the Prose Edda written by Snorri Sturluson (13th century), showing the Ancient Norse Gods Odin, Heimdallr, Sleipnir, and other figures from Norse mythology, plus the legendary axe hammer.

The Tjängvide image stone with illustrations from Norse mythology
By Berig - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3682858
Showing axe hammers in combat and a Viking longship read more  read more

Code: 25845

A Superb, Heavy Grade, Original Viking 'Bearded' Battle Axe, Around 1000 Years Old. Almost Every Viking Warrior Used the Axe or Spear As Their Main & Primary Combat Weapon. Swords Were the Prerogative of Kings and Earls {Jarls}

Viking battle axehead 9th-12th century AD.

An iron axehead with triangular socket, narrow blade with curved edge with beard section.

One of the most famous Viking axes is Hel (named after the Norse death goddess), which belonged to King Magnus of Norway and Denmark. He is said to have inherited the weapon from his father, Olav Haraldsson of Norway, whose ax features prominently in Norway’s national coat of arms. Some Viking axes if they were wielded by a particularly strong and a skilled warrior could even cut through chainmail and helmets.

When King Magnus’s poet credited the king with being able to split heads like firewood, he wasn’t necessarily being hyperbolic. Writing about the pre-Viking Franks and their use of throwing axes, the Francisca, Procopius makes it clear that the Franks threw their axes immediately before hand to hand combat with the purpose of breaking shields and disrupting the enemy line while possibly wounding or killing an enemy warrior. The weight of the head and length of the haft would allow the axe to be thrown with considerable momentum to an effective range of about 12 m (40 ft). Even if the edge of the blade were not to strike the target, the weight of the iron head could cause injury. The francisca also had a psychological effect, in that, on the throwing of the francisca, the enemy might turn and run in the fear that another volley was coming. It is most logical that the Vikings may well have adopted this system of axe throwing combat from the earlier Franks, as it seemed most effective in numerous combat arenas.

Almost every iron weapon, sword, axe, spear, or helmet, that has survived till today, from this ancient era is now in a fully russetted surface condition, as is this one, because only the very few swords of ancient kings, that have been preserved in national or Royal collections, are today still in a fair state of preservation and with smooth surface condition.  read more

Code: 25838

The Lanes Armoury, Described To Us Every Day, By Hundreds of Our Daily Visitors, Including, By President Ronald Reagan Over 40 Years Ago, As, Probably, The Most Amazing & Very Best Shop In Britain & Especially Featured in The New York Times

Thousands of worldwide visitors to the UK come to visit us here, every day {except Sunday} of every week, and the most consistent, much appreciated and most kind comment includes they believe we are the most amazing, incredible and interesting shop in Britain, just like a museum, but, everything is for sale! If we were a UK National museum, we would likely be the very smallest, but, we contain thousands upon thousands of original collectables and books, ancient, antique and vintage from a 20 million year old megaladon shark's tooth, to a samurai sword made almost 800 years ago {we have at any one time, up to 350 original samurai antique swords in stock to view, apparently the largest original selection to be seen for sale in any shop in the world }. From an Ancient Greek 'Wreath, or Crown Of Victory' in solid hammered gold, made around 2300 years ago from the time of Alexander the Great, to many cased duelling pistols, and numerous cased Georgian and Victorian sporting guns, all with their original tools, made for a prince, or a fantastic selection of original French sabres used by Napoleon’s generals and commanders of his Imperial Garde, to a 1st Edition 'Great Gatsby', and several various James Bond or Charles Dickens Ist Editions.

We always try to have an intriguing selection of Ist Editions, for example this month you can view and buy, rare James Bond 1st Edition books, Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan Ist editions, alongside Bull-Dog Drummonds, and, up to 2,000 other history based books in stock, all vintage and hardback. We also stock antique magical and witchcraft pieces, wondrous artefacts, many arcane or esoteric, such as a collection of amazing African Congo ‘fetish’ and so-called voodoo statues, many near identical to those in the `Rockefeller Collection in the Met in New York, or, an incredibly rare ancient Hun or Visigoths Life-stone mounted sword, around 1,600 years old, reputedly imbued with magic powers to enable its warrior owner to be protected or healed from fatal wounds inflicted by their ancient Roman combat adversaries, also, a stunning early 19th century Witch Ball, mounted upon an Ancient Greek bronze ‘after the antique’ statue of Atlas, and each piece can be with a history that could likely be beyond compare.

Twenty four years ago, after 80 years of their family’s trading in Brighton, the Lanes Armoury was honoured by being Nominated & Awarded by BACA, In The Best Antique & Collectables Shop In Britain Awards 2001
Presented by MILLER'S Antiques Guide, THE BBC, HOMES & ANTIQUES MAGAZINE, for the British Antique & Collectables Awards. The version of the antique dealers ‘Oscars’ of Britain.

It was a great honour for Mark and David, especially considering at the beginning of the new millennium, in the year 2000, there was over 7,000 established antique and collectors shops in the UK, according to the official Guide to the Antique Shops of Britain, 1999-2000, that we were nominated, and voted into in the top four, out of 7,000 other antique shops, within the whole of Great Britain.

We were also very kindly described and listed as one of the most highly recommended visitors attractions in the whole of Europe {and thus the UK} by nothing less than the 'New York Times ' within their travel guide "New York Times, 36 Hours, 125 Weekends in Europe. However, this is not the sort of intimidating gallery that you may find in the most exclusive parts of London or Paris, where each room may only have a few, well lit, exclusive pieces with six and seven figure price tags. We are more like a Dickensian, ancient spell-book and magic shop, within our ancient narrow Brighton Lanes, just like Diagon Alley, as one may find within the pages of Harry Potter {by the genius author J.K Rowling} with glass cases overflowing with thousands of flintlocks, artefacts and antiquities, and thousands upon thousands of antique swords, rifles and muskets, mounted upon numerous heaving racks affixed upon the guards red painted walls, rising up from floor to ceiling. Glorious antique helmets by the dozen, piled high upon cabinets, and thousands of books stacked up on the floor and in cabinets and upon desks. Plus of course we have the ubiquitous original old ghost books, volumes on spells, sorcery and magic, and original, ancient pagan, mystical charms.

In the previous 104 years, our family’s past and present clients have included some highly fascinating people from all fields of interest, such as, Hollywood & British legends, of film and theatre, royalty, aristocracy, and academics in all fields, including curators of museums such as the British museum and likely the most famous and very first museum in the world, The Tower of London, and politicians of all types, and from all manner of countries around the world. For example, in the 1970’s {before Mark’s experience serving President Reagan} he was introduced to late great Garfield {Garry} Weston, Canadian billionaire, one of the world’s most famous philanthropists and owner of Fortnum and Mason in Piccadilly London, whereupon Mark supplied Garry with finest antique Meissen porcelains thereafter for his antique department in Fortnums. He also had the incredible good fortune to meet the genius writer, artiste, actor and raconteur. Barry Humphries {aka Dame Edna Everidge}. After a glorious afternoon of entertainment, wit and wisdom imparted by Barry, Mark sold to him a fabulous rare piece of Art Nouveau for his collection. And on one extraordinary visit to our shop, in October 1970, when Mark was present {but still, at the time, studying at Brighton College } David snr and Camilla {Mark and David jnr’s mother} were visited by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. With their intention to buy a mansion house from David and Camilla {for Elizabeth’s ex-husband Michael Wilding} but, remarkably, resulted in Elizabeth selling to Camilla her own Rolex watch, just in order to annoy and anger Richard {as intensely as possible, and needless to say, it was remarkably successful}

Our oldest regular collector is now over 103 years old, and our most regular customer has been coming to us for over 78 years! Every month over 60,000 of our regular followers around the world request our weekly stock updates by our updates email. and it is so easy to join in with them, just go to our home page, enter your regular email address in the box, and click go!. you will then get an update email every weekend, {if you don't, just check your spam or junk box.}

Every single item from The Lanes Armoury is accompanied by our unique Certificate of Authenticity. Part of our continued dedication to maintain the standards forged by us over the past 100 plus years or more of our family’s trading.

The autographed photographs in the gallery, one from President Reagan, that was taken in the Oval Office in The White House and was very kindly given to Mark during his visit in the 1980’s. and the two certificates from The BACA Awards, and The New York Times.

Plus, in the gallery, a photo of Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton arriving at Brighton Railway Station in October 1970, prior to their visit to our shop to see Mark and David’s parents.  read more

Code: 22898

An 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 Orinally Mounted ‘Lifstein’, the Magical Life-Stone, and Original Crossguard

A rarest of the very rare, a fabulous museum quality example of an original spartha sword, used by both the Visigoth and Hun pagan horsemen, modelled on the Germanic Roman spartha during the battles in the invasions of the Roman Empire's territory by the Visigoths and Atilla the Hun, leading to the Sack of Rome and beyond, in fact, eventually to the fall of Rome, and the Western Roman Empire itself.

A long double edged horseman’s sword with lentoid section blade with its rhomboid crossguard still present, it is overall russetted as is always the case with swords of such great age, yet it is in superb condition for a sword of this period, and it was recovered originally, and most remarkably, with its magical, pagan ‘life stone’ intact. The large bead, Lifstein or life-stone, is likely polished white chalcedony, and these legendary large beads are called life-stones, since they were believed to have magical properties for the swordsman, and thus be able to heal wounds and keep a wounded warrior alive. They were attached to the scabbards on this Migration Period example, although some were possibly attached to the hilt.

To find one of these incredibly historical swords with its original, excavated Life-Stone {aka Lifstein} present and together still is simply amazing. The grip and pommel that were once part of this sword would have been the usual organic material, such as ivory, bone, horn or wood, and thus they always naturally rot and crumble into dust, in likely just a few hundred years or so, after it was concealed or buried. Only precious gold, silver, or metal sword mounts could survive the millennia, but the spartha would never usually have metal grips or pommels. Only the most wealthy and superior warriors could possibly afford or even bother to adorn their sword hilts with gold and the like, such as Hunnish clan chiefs or kings. Such as has the same form of sword in Alamannenmuseum Ellwangen, in Germany. { See the gallery photo}

This sword itself was likely worn by the horseman using the belt suspension method, with its ‘Life stone’ mounted tied, with a stout cord of some kind, attached to its scabbard, although the sagas don't really specifically say, although one example is in Kormak's Saga 9th C. where it's stated

"Bersi had a sharp sword called Hviting, with a Lifstein (life stone) attached to it, which he carried in many dangers."

It doesn't specifically say if it was attached to his hilt or scabbard.
Hrolf Kraki's sword Skofnung is also said to possess a life-stone, but it is supposedly set into the hilt. Perhaps like the garnet inlaid hilts of the recovered swords of the Migration Period

This hint at a likely Hunnish origin for this actual type of horsemen's sword is supported by an early literary source, that specifically points out that the Huns wore two matching swords, a long double-edged sword, just as this example, carried at the left side of the warrior, and a single-edged short sword at the right.
This literary source is the oldest preserved epic of the Nibelungen cycle, Waltharius, also known as the Waltharilied, or the Lay of Walther and Hildegund, composed in Latin after lost German prototypes by a monk of St. Gall, Switzerland, during the tenth century.
In this heroic epic is the history of Walther of Aquitaine, a Visigothic prince, and Hildegund, a Burgundian princess.

“Though hostages, Walther and Hildegund were entrusted to the army, and in command was a general, and for a time even, commander-in-chief of the Hunnish forces.”
This is another gem of trustworthy historical information, since this putting of a hostage into a responsible position was exactly according to Hunnish custom. It continues;
“With them was Hagen, a noble youth of the royal house of the Rhenish Franks, they are hostages at the court of King Etzel of the Huns, the Attila of history. Hagen manages to flee, and Walther and Hildegund, his betrothed from childhood, escape soon afterward. In preparing for the flight Walther arms himself in Hunnish fashion-
"pro ritu Panoniarum"-with a double-edged long sword, spatha, belted to his left hip-"et laevum femur ancipiti praecinxerat ense"
-and a single-edged half-sword, semispatha, at his right-
"atque alio dextrum, pro ritu Panoniarum; Is tamen ex una dat vulnera parte."

The Sack of Rome on 24 August 410 AD was undertaken by the Visigoths led by their king, Alaric. At that time, Rome was no longer the capital of the Western Roman Empire, having been replaced in that position first by Mediolanum (now Milan) in 286 and then by Ravenna in 402. Nevertheless, the city of Rome retained a paramount position as "the eternal city" and a spiritual center of the Empire. This was the first time in almost 800 years that Rome had fallen to a foreign enemy, and the sack was a major shock to contemporaries, friends and foes of the Empire alike.

The sacking of 410 is seen as a major landmark in the fall of the Western Roman Empire. St. Jerome, living in Bethlehem, wrote: "the city which had taken the whole world was itself taken"

Photo in the gallery of a very similar Alamannic gold grip spatha, 5th century, with Life-bead attached to its museum created representational wooden scabbard portion. Without doubt in our opinion this was originally the former Hunnish or Visigoth sword of a highest ranked general, clan chief, king, or the equivalent status of leader.
Photo of that sword was taken at the Alamannenmuseum Ellwangen, Germany.

See;
Io. Grimm and Schmeller, LateinischeGedichtedes io. und ir. Jahrhundert(sGottingen, 1838). Alwin Schulz (San-Marte), trans., Walthervon Aquitanien(Magdeburg, I853). The most popular
translations are Victor von Scheffel's appendix to his Ekkehard (1855), the first romantic historical novel in German, and Karl Simrock's Das KleineHeldenbuch(Stuttgart and Berlin, I874).

About the Sword of the Huns and the
"Urepos"of the Steppes
HELMUT NICKEL
Curator of Arms and Armour, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

As with all our items it comes complete with our certificate of authenticity  read more

Code: 24623

Absolutely Superb Esoteric Antique Witchcraft Fetish Statue. An African Kongo Witch Doctor's Nail-Fetish Power Figure, A Voduo {Voodoo} Nkondi Nkisi. Historically Much Feared by Victorian Missionaries as Instruments of Sorcery. Made by The Tribal Nganga

The African Kongo Witch Doctor's power figures minkisi {plural of nkisi} that stand prominent among all minkisi is called nkisi {sacred medicine} nkondi {hunter} likely from the Bakongo people. This type of figure is commonly called a nail fetish and is one of the most recognisable and collectible figures in all of African art. These life-like figures are instantly identified by the many nails, pegs, blades, and shards that are hammered into them and made by the tribal Nganga { Witch Doctor } .

Each individual insertion represents one of three things: an oath or agreement between two parties, a pledge to provide protection against enemies and witchcraft, or a vow of vengeance. 'Nkondi' literally means 'hunter;' and it is generally considered an aggressive entity.

The insertions are driven into the figure by the nganga and represent the mambu and the type or degree of severity of an issue can be suggested through the material itself. A peg may refer to a matter being ‘settled’ whereas a nail, or metal shard, deeply inserted, may represent a more serious offense such as murder. Prior to insertion, opposing parties or clients often lick the blades or nails, to seal the function or purpose of the nkisi through their saliva. If an oath is broken by one of the parties or evil befalls one of them, the nkisi nkondi will become activated to carry out its mission of destruction or divine protection

The imposing presence and implied power of nkisi nkondi is certainly enough to keep anyone committed to a promise or agreement. Like other minkisi, powerful medicine is usually stored inside the belly, which can then covered by a piece of glass or mirror. The reflective surface represents the world of the dead and the vision of the spirits. One is a traditional naked fetish witchcraft figure, standing upright, deeply carved staring eyes a the body studded overall with hundreds of nails of iron driven into the body, a traditional fetish upwards that may, some believe, have once held a spear.

A nkisi has many interrelated functions. African doctors use it to effect healing. They use the nkisi to search for the spiritual and physical source of a malady and then chase it away from the body. As a preventive measure, spiritual leaders also use it to protect the human soul, guarding it against disease and illness. In addition, they may use it to bind its owner to a friend or to attract lovers. It is also used to serve as a charm to repel enemies, arrest them in their tracks, or inflict an illness on them. Alternatively, a nkisi can be used to embody and direct a spirit; similarly, it can be used as a hiding place for a troubled soul, keeping order.

Nkisi, in west-central African lore, any object or material substance invested with sacred energy and made available for spiritual protection. One tradition of the Kongo people of west-central Africa holds that the god Funza gave the world the first nkisi. Africans uprooted during the Atlantic slave-trade era carried with them some knowledge of nkisi making. In places throughout the United States, particularly in the Deep South, African descendants still create minkisi. Nkisi making is also found throughout the Caribbean and South America, in places such as Cuba, Haiti, and Brazil.

This wild appearance of the Nganga was intended to create a frightening effect, or kimbulua in the Kongo language. The nganga's costume was often modeled on his nkisi. The act of putting on the costume was itself part of the performance; all participants were marked with red and white stripes, called makila, for protection.

The "circles of white around the eyes" refer to mamoni lines (from the verb mona, to see). These lines purport to indicate the ability to see hidden sources of illness and evil.

Yombe nganga often wore white masks, whose color represented the spirit of a deceased person. White was also associated with justice, order, truth, invulnerability, and insight: all virtues associated with the nganga.

The nganga is instructed in the composition of the nkondi, perhaps in a dream, by a particular spirit. In one description of the banganga's process, the nganga then cuts down a tree for the wood that s/he will use to construct the nkondi. He then kills a chicken, which causes the death of a hunter who has been successful in killing game and whose captive soul subsequently animates the nkondi figure. Based on this process, *Gell writes that the nkondi is a figure an index of cumulative agency, a "visible knot tying together an invisible skein of spatio-temporal relations" of which participants in the ritual are aware

After a tribal carver artist completed carving the artifact, the "nganga" transformed it into an object capable of healing illness, settling disputes, safeguarding the peace, and punishing wrongdoers. Each work of this kind or "nkisi" is associated with a spirit, that is subjected to a degree of human control.
Europeans may have encountered these objects during expeditions to the Congo as early as the 15th century. However, several of these fetish objects, as they were often termed, were confiscated by missionaries in the late 19th century and were destroyed as evidence of sorcery or heathenism. Nevertheless, several were collected as objects of fascination and even as an object of study of Kongo culture. Kongo traditions such as those of the nkisi nkondi have survived over the centuries and migrated to the Americas and the Caribbean via Afro-Atlantic religious practices such as vodun, Palo Monte, and macumba. In Hollywood these figures have morphed into objects of superstition such as New Orleans voodoo dolls covered with stick pins. Nonetheless, minkisi have left an indelible imprint as visually provocative figures of spiritual importance and protection.

Often such figures were placed outside, or within, the hut of a certain form of tribal elder, what we would refer to as, the tribal witch-doctor, called a Nganga as a symbol of his position within the local village, and his ability to cause magical curses and unpleasantness for villagers who had fallen out with others of the village or region, who then sought out the services of the so called 'witch-doctor' to resolve the problem, with, such as, a curse.

Vintage Hand Carved African Medicine Man Nkisi figures. Esoteric collector's pieces, connected to the so-called western term of Voodoo {vodou} magic, part of the pantheon of the occult, magic & witchcraft of Africa.

Among the various Kongo peoples, nkisi means a sacred medicine. This word has been extended to include objects containing that medicine as well. The carved wooden statues referred to in the 19th century as nail fetishes and more recently as power figures containing medicine that imbues them with divine power, are therefore nkisi as well. Due to the medicine they contain (which is administered by a witch doctor or nganga), they act as agents of divine power, granting requests. healing or attesting to agreements. Each decision or resolution is literally nailed down in the figure.

A certain class of nkisi, called nkondi, are able to enforce the solutions they provide actively and to seek vengeance against those who heed them not. These figures either menace the viewer with spears and fierce facial expressions, or strike intimidating, belligerent poses.

Nkisi nkondi specialize in different areas of life. The most important nkisi nkondi carries out mangaaka, or preeminent justice.

Surveillance or watchfulness assist the effective enforcement of the power figure’s decisions. This is registered in the size of the eyes or, in some cases, by multiple sets of eyes. The rope wrapped around some figures represents a snake, a watchful predator who lends its powers of observation to the figure. Double-headed figures have double the visual powers and can see into the city of the dead and the realm of the living at the same time.

Each power figure has a distinct personality, ranging from contemplative to angry to soulful to reserved to compassionate. The ability to suggest those qualities visually with such immediacy and precision is one of the most impressive aspect of the surviving figures.

Kongo religion Kikongo: Bukongo. Bakongo religion was translocated to the Americas along with its enslaved practitioners. Some surviving traditions include conjure, dreaming, possession by the dead to learn wisdom from the ancestors, traditional healing and working with minkisi. The spiritual traditions and religions that have preserved Kongo traditions include Hoodoo, Palo Monte, Lumbalú, Kumina, Haitian Vodou, Candomblé Bantu, Kongo traditions such as those of the nkisi nkondi have survived over the centuries and migrated to the Americas and the Caribbean via Afro-Atlantic religious practices such as vodun, Palo Monte, and macumba.

Similar examples in the Smithsonian and Metropolitan in the USA. One very similar nkisi, from the late 19th to mid 20th century has been a highlight of the Rockefeller collection since its acquisition in 1952.

*Gell, A . The Art of Anthropologie. London: Humanities Press.  read more

Code: 25503

A Mid 19th Century, Crystal Witch Ball Scrying Glass On A Fabulous, Bronze Figure of the Ancient Greek Titan, Atlas Bearing The Armillary Celestial Sphere. A Most Intriguing Classic Antique Collector's Item Of The Esoteric Mystical Arts and Occultism

A simply fabulous original antique collectors item, probably Italian, from a Grand Tour, is of a bronze ‘after the antique’ statue of the Titan, Atlas bearing the heavens, set upon a polished wood pediment. A stunning piece that would look absolutely wonderful upon a desk or set upon a mantle. The crystal skrying ball is removed by simply lifting it from its armillary. An armillary is a spherical framework mounted atop a figure or stand, with which a sphere could be held or mounted within. If a metal sphere was within it, it could be plain, or engraved, with stars or celestial bodies { see a Grand Tour variant version in the gallery}

The crystal ball was used by gazing into their centre, for the divination of the future, and the answering of questions. As well as the warding off of evil spirits and misfortune. A fascinating treasure - of great artistic quality. Antique bronze sculpture of Atlas, set with a Louis XVI style armillary sphere

War and punishment of the Titanomachy
Atlas and his brother Menoetius sided with the Titans in their war against the Olympians, the Titanomachy. When the Titans were defeated, many of them (including Menoetius) were confined to Tartarus, but Zeus condemned Atlas to stand at the western edge of the earth and hold up the sky on his shoulders. Thus, he was Atlas Telamon, "enduring Atlas", and became a doublet of Coeus, the embodiment of the celestial axis around which the heavens revolve.

A common misconception today is that Atlas was forced to hold the Earth on his shoulders, but Classical art shows Atlas holding the celestial spheres, not the terrestrial globe;

Witch balls were found in England in the 1600 and 1700s originally to ward off evil spirits and spells. By the 1800s witch balls crossed the Atlantic to New England. They also spread to other parts of Europe, being found in Italy, France, and Constantinople. The witch ball originated among cultures where harmful magic and those who practiced it were feared. They are one of many folk practices involving objects for protecting the household. The word witch ball may be a corruption of watch ball because it was used to ward off, guard against, evil spirits. They may be hung in an eastern window, placed on top of a vase, or for the very wealthy set upon a decorative gold stand, either pedestal, or figural, or suspended by a cord (as from the mantelpiece or rafters). They may also be placed on sticks in windows or hung in rooms where inhabitants wanted to ward off evil.

Superstitious European sailors valued the talismanic powers of the witch balls in protecting their homes. Witch balls appeared in America in the 19th century and larger, more opaque variations are often found in gardens under the name gazing ball. This name derives from their being used for divination and scrying where a person gazes into them dreamily to try to see future events or to see the answers to questions. However, gazing balls contain no strands within their interior. The witch ball holds great superstition with regard to warding off evil spirits in our particular English counties of East Sussex and West Sussex. The tradition was also taken to overseas British colonies, such as the former British colonies of New England, and remains popular in coastal regions. Apparently, our Hawkins forebears ship’s that sailed across to the New World in the 1600’s, for both trade, emigres, and pilgrims, would carry at least one witch ball hung within a net on board. Our paternal grandmother hung one such in a net from her home’s East window all her life until her death in the 1980’s.

The history of the crystal ball as a device can be traced as far back as to the Medieval Period in central Europe (between 500 – 1500 AD) and in Scandinavia (1050 – 1500 AD). The very ancient art of using reflective surfaces in divination is called scrying and is almost as old as man himself. Queen Elizabeth I consulted Dr John Dee, philosopher, mathematician and alchemist for advice in government and a smoky quartz ball that belonged to Dee is now in the British Museum. Any antique crystal spheres are very desirable especially if a well-known reader has used them. This is the best one we have ever seen quite simply and it must have belonged to someone who took their craft incredibly seriously as it would have been tremendously expensive to make at the time.

Occultism, a group of esoteric religious traditions emerging primarily from 19th-century Europe. In particular, the term occultism is associated with the ideas of the French Kabbalist and ceremonial magician Éliphas Lévi as well as the various figures, both in France and abroad, who were strongly influenced by his writings. In the academic study of esotericism, the term is often used in a broader sense to characterize all esoteric traditions that have adapted to an increasingly secular, globalized, and scientific world, including Spiritualism, Spiritism, Wicca, and the New Age milieu.
History
The term occultism derives from occult, itself adopted from the Latin word occultus, meaning “hidden” or “secret.” In medieval and early modern Europe this term had been used in reference to “occult properties,” or forces that, even if invisible to the human eye, were believed to exist within material objects. In the 16th century the term occult gained additional meanings, coming to also describe specific traditions of thought, usually called “occult sciences” or “occult philosophies.” Among the traditions repeatedly labeled under these terms were alchemy, astrology, and magia naturalis (“natural magic”), all of which are now typically regarded as forms of esotericism.
The earliest known use of the term occultism comes from French, where l’occultisme appears in Jean-Baptiste Richard’s 1842 work Enrichissement de la langue française (“Enrichment of the French Language”). The word’s popularization nevertheless results largely from its use by Alphonse Louis Constant, a French author who published a series of books under the pseudonym Éliphas Lévi in the 1850s and ’60s. Sometimes referred to as the “founder of occultism,” Lévi was a committed Roman Catholic and socialist interested in many older esoteric traditions, including ceremonial magic, Kabbalah, and the use of the tarot. In his writings, most notably his highly influential Dogme et rituel de la haute magie (The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic; 1854–1856), he wrote about a purported ancient and universal tradition of spiritual wisdom, the knowledge of which could help bridge the modern divide between science and religion. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many of the influential French figures who were inspired by Lévi—including Stanislas de Guaita, Joséphin Péladan, and Papus—also went on to describe their beliefs and practices as occultisme.
Scrying, also referred to as "seeing" or "peeping," is a practice rooted in divination and fortune-telling. It involves gazing into a medium, hoping to receive significant messages or visions that could offer personal guidance, prophecy, revelation, or inspiration

Scrying has been practiced in many cultures in the belief that it can reveal the past, present, or future. Some practitioners assert that visions that come when one stares into the media are from the subconscious or imagination, while others say that they come from gods, spirits, devils, or the psychic mind, depending on the culture and practice. There is neither any systematic body of empirical support for any such views in general however, nor for their respective rival merits; individual preferences in such matters are arbitrary

Undoubtedly, Nostradamus is the most recognized of scryers. In the sixteenth century, in ancient France, he was an astrologer and physician. He wrote in poetic quatrains which referenced future events. In his day, working as a magician conflicted with the law. His predictions were veiled to allow him to fly under the radar in that sense.

The Crystal Ball is a painting by John William Waterhouse completed in 1902. Waterhouse displayed both it and The Missal in the Royal Academy of 1902. The painting shows the influence of the Italian Renaissance with vertical and horizontal lines, along with circles "rather than the pointed arches of the Gothic".

Another painting in the gallery. Part of a private collection, the painting, by Pieter Claesz circa 1628, Still Life with Crystal Ball which depicts a crystal ball, a wand, a book of ceremonial magic, and a woman "weaving a spell", has been restored to show the skull which had been covered by a previous owner.

Yet another painting is Leonardo da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi' Circa 1500, of Jesus Christ bearing a crystal ball in his left hand.

Another photo in the gallery is an extremely similar study, a 17th century patinated bronze version of the same study, after the antique, yet bearing within an armillary a bronze sphere. That slightly older and taller variant version was recently valued at around 8,000 gbp.


Overall the the crystal ball is very good indeed but just the odd near invisible age marking. 25.5 cm high  read more

Code: 25501

A Most Fine Circa 1700 year Old Imperial Roman Vassal Warrior's Dagger Blade, Used Up To and Into The 5th Century AD Including By The Personal Guard of Emperor Gratian.

In superbly preserved condition, just lacking its wooden hilt as usual, due to wood and organic materials never surviving buried for longer that a few hundred years.
The same dagger as used by the personal guard units of Roman Emperor Gratian, who was so impressed by the skills of the Alans in combat, he invited them to be part of his personal guard, and he even went so far in his respect of their prowess in combat as to wear the very same form of armour as they wore.

Used by the warriors known as the 'Alans', they were predecessors of the medieval European knights, and from whence the Christian name Alan, that is still used today, descended from.

The Alans laid the foundation of medieval military tradition in Europe and inspired British mythology.

This is an incredible, original, Alans dagger, known as the a Samartian, blade, in very fine condition, professionally cleaned and superbly conserved.

The Alan guards combat dagger is highly distinctive, bearing two opposing side cuts at the ricasso before the tang. From the time when the Alan's Samartian warriors fought with the Roman Legions against Attila the Hun, and the Hunic invasion, and the battles of the Catalaunian Fields, that led to the death of Attila.

The Alans pursuit of war, a decent opponent and heroic death was legendary in the ancient times. But how did these tribes end up with such a military role and political impact in the West while so far from their homeland, and most often amongst enemies. Clearly, their number or strength was not the answer.

They conquered the West with their military culture and outstanding discipline. Their cavalry, clad in steel armour and arranged in tight rows, had the best skills of the time. German kings eagerly invited the Alans to serve in their armies, while their own subjects, mostly marching troops, learned horse riding and horse battle from them. The Alans impressed the arrogant Roman nobility so much that Emperor Gratian (359-383) invited them to his guard unit, reformed his cavalry based on their model and wore Alan clothes and armour himself.

Since the Alan society was mostly war-oriented, boys were taught horseback riding from early childhood. According to Marcellinus, Alan warriors considered it offensive for a man to walk. Isidore of Seville noted in the 6th century that they even looked somewhat clumsy without their horses.

The warriors and tribes known as Alans were part of the tribes derived from the word and term of the earlier people known as Aryans, from the old Indo-European-Iranian word Arya. Tall and good-looking with fair hair and menacing looks, the Alans were more warlike than other ethnic groups related to them. Later, their source name, Aryan, was used and abused by notorious effect by Hitler's 3rd Reich in the 20th century, as the basis of the true ancient Germanic peoples. This blade shape is highly distinctive and may well itself inspired the very similar blade shape of the German WW2 SS dagger, as much as the Tudor English Holbein dagger worn by Henry the 8th is said to have inspired the entire SS dagger pattern.
This dagger blade is from the 5th-6th century AD. A two-edged leaf-shaped iron blade, lentoid in section with tapering tang, notch above each shoulder. During the first period, the Alans appear as a nomadic, warlike, pastoral people who were professional warriors and took service, at various times, with the Romans, Parthians, and Sasanians.

Their cavalry was particularly renowned. They participated in Mithridates wars with Rome (chronicled by Lucan), as well as in Roman campaigns in Armenia, Media, and Parthia in the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. (see Josephus, Jewish Wars 7.244-51, Antiquities 18.97; cf. accounts in Moses of Khoren, History of the Armenians Langlois, Historiens II, pp. 105-06, 125 and the Georgian Chronicle Kartlis tskhovreba, in M. F. Brosset and D. I. Chubinov, Histoire de la Georgie I, St. Petersburg, 1849). Ammianus Marcellinus (31.2) describes the Alans? nomadic economy and warlike customs.

The invasion of the Huns split the Alans into two parts, the European and the Caucasian. Some of the European Alans were drawn into the migration of peoples from eastern into western Europe. With the Germanic tribes of Visigoths and Vandals they passed into Gaul and Spain, some even reaching North Africa. The Alans fought on the side of the Romans in the battle of the Catalaunian Fields (A.D. 451), when Aetius defeated Attila, chief of the Huns. In 461 and 464 they made incursions into Italy. After Attila's death they struggled, together with the Germanic tribes, to free themselves from Hun domination. Large Alan hordes settled along the middle course of the Loire in Gaul under King Sangiban and on the lower Danube with King Candac (the historian Jordanes sprang from the latter group). Another settlement is indicated by the name of the Spanish province Catalonia, which is but a slight deformation of Goth-Alania, provine of the Goths and Alans. The French proper name Alain and English Alan are an inheritance from the tribe. The Alans also left an imprint on Celtic folk-poetry, e.g., the cycle of legends concerning King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table (see M. Hesse, Iranisches Sagengut im Christlichen Epos, Atlantis 1937, pp. 621-28; J. H. Grisward, The motif of the sword thrown into the lake : The death of Arthur and the death of Batradz, Romania 90, 1969, pp. 289-340). Part of the European Alans remained in the lands bordering the Black Sea, including the Crimea. Gratian, Emperor Flavius Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the western part of the Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and was raised to the rank of Augustus in 367. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratian took over government of the west while his half-brother Valentinian II was also acclaimed emperor in Pannonia. Gratian governed the western provinces of the empire, while his uncle Valens was already the emperor over the east.

Gratian subsequently led a campaign across the Rhine, attacked the Lentienses, and forced the tribe to surrender. That same year, the eastern emperor Valens was killed fighting the Goths at the Battle of Adrianople, which led to Gratian elevating Theodosius to replace him in 379. Gratian favoured Nicene Christianity over traditional Roman religion, issuing the Edict of Thessalonica, refusing the office of pontifex maximus, and removing the Altar of Victory from the Roman Senate's Curia Julia. The city of Cularo on the Isère river in Roman Gaul was renamed Latin: Gratianopolis after him, which later evolved to Grenoble.

Hilts of Roman era swords and daggers effectively, are almost non existent, as they were made of organic materials, such as wood, horn etc. which rarely survives on edged weapons more than 400 to 500 years or so.  read more

Code: 22083

A Superb, Original 16th Century, Circa 1500's, Italian Glaive Polearm, A Simply Remarkable and Historical Piece Used in the 1500's. with An Incredible Slashing Blade & Counter Double Hook To Dismount Knights From Their Horses. In Excellent Condition

Also known as a fauchard. 34.5 inch head. glaive is a European polearm weapon, consisting of a single-edged blade on the end of a pole. It is similar to the Japanese naginata, the Chinese guandao, Russian sovnya and Siberian palma

Typically, the blade was from around 45 cm (18 inches) long, on the end of a pole 2 m (6 or 7 feet) long, and the blade was affixed in a socket-shaft configuration similar to an axe head, rather than having a tang like a sword or naginata. Occasionally glaive blades were created with a small hook on the reverse side such as this one to better catch riders on horseback. Such blades are called glaive-guisarmes.

According to the 1599 treatise Paradoxes of Defence by the English gentleman George Silver, the glaive is used in the same general manner as the quarterstaff, half pike, bill, halberd, voulge, or partisan. Silver rates this class of polearms above all other individual hand-to-hand combat weapons.
The Maciejowski Bible (Morgan Bible) depicts an example of a two-handed glaive used on horseback. Two images in our gallery are taken from the Morgan Bible (Folio 10 Verso - top). Notice the Warbrand in the forefront slicing into a mounted soldier with his glaive. Another early engraving of a knight with a glaive, and a group of men behing the king all with forms of glaive.
The contemporary term for this weapon may have been faussart, which was used for a variety of single-edged weapons seen as related to the scythe (along with terms such as falchion or falcata derived from falx, the Latin term for "scythe"). 96.75 inches long overall haft is so long it would need to be expertly but only temporarily halved by our workshop for shipping This superb glaive was formerly part of the Higgin's Collection and exhibited in the wonderful Higgins Museum Collection in Massachusetts for many decades, and it still bears, for its provenance, its original John Woodman Higgins Armoury Museum collection label.

https://www.worcesterart.org/collection/arms-and-armor/history/  read more

Code: 22579

A Beautiful, Original, 16th Cent. Italian Knight’s ‘Close’ Helmet From William Randolph Hearst’s Castle, San Simeon Formerly the Most Famous Private Museum Collection in the World. He Was Portrayed in Orson Welles Film Masterpiece ‘Citizen Caine’.

Although Orson Welles, possibly the greatest genius filmmaker Hollywood ever produced, hid the depiction of W.R. Hearst as the near despotic millionaire fictional character Charles Foster Caine, in his masterpiece, not a single person ever believed it not to be a depiction of Hearst, {least of all Hearst himself} thus, it resulted in Orson to be, possibly the first, movie star and director to be effectively ‘cancelled’, and his career henceforth was thus ruined and destroyed by Hearst’s media empire. Many believed, and some still do, this was the greatest tragedy to befall Hollywood film making in its 20th century history. Like the death of Mozart in his youthful prime, when mentioned, Orson Welles, is often followed by one of the saddest of remarks “what might have been?”.

A similar form of helmet is illustrated in the *treatise of René of Anjou, Duke of Anjou, Count of Provence, King of Jerusalem and Sicily. See picture of the similar helmet from the treatise in the gallery.

A fine original close helmet, probably Italian, with funerary face visor. Fine original brass rose head rivets. The front visor was adapted when the knight perished and this helm would have been mounted above his tomb with his achievements, in circa 1590, likely with his sword. Such as two other helmets *King Henry Vth (d. 1422), buried in Westminster Abbey. Set up over the dead king’s monument until the 20th century was his funerary helmet, a finely decorated jousting helm, now kept in the abbey museum.

Edward the Black Prince or Edward of Woodstock (15 June 1330 - 8 June 1376), eldest son of Edward III, King of England. Dating from 1376 his funerary visored helmet is to be found above his funerary monument in Canterbury Cathedral.

This helmet we offer is a stunning piece with amazing provenance, was owned by one of the greatest yet notorious men in world publishing history. William Randolph Hearst ( April 29, 1863 - August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper Mogul, a publisher who built the nation’s largest newspaper chain and whose methods profoundly influenced American journalism. His collecting took his agents around the Europe to acquire the finest treasures available, for his project of building the largest and finest private estate in the world, Hearst Castle in San Simeon. In much of this he succeeded. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887 after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father. Moving to New York City, he acquired The New York Journal and engaged in a bitter circulation war with Joseph Pulitzer's New York World that led to the creation of yellow journalism sensationalized stories of dubious veracity. Acquiring more newspapers, Hearst created a chain that numbered nearly 30 papers in major American cities at its peak. He later expanded to magazines, creating the largest newspaper and magazine business in the world.

He was twice elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives, and ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of New York City in 1905 and 1909, for Governor of New York in 1906, and for Lieutenant Governor of New York in 1910. Nonetheless, through his newspapers and magazines, he exercised enormous political influence, and was famously blamed for pushing public opinion with his yellow journalism type of reporting leading the United States into a war with Spain in 1898.

His life story was the main inspiration for the development of the lead character in Orson Welles's film Citizen Kane. His mansion, Hearst Castle, on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean near San Simeon, California, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, was donated by the Hearst Corporation to the state of California in 1957, and is now a State Historical Monument and a National Historic Landmark, open for public tours. Hearst formally named the estate La Cuesta Encantada (The Enchanted Slope), but he usually just called it the ranch. This helmet was acquired by Hearst for his mansion, Hearst Castle, but when his empire began to crumble much of his collection was sold at Gimbels In New York in 1941, which is where the Higgins Armory acquired this helmet. Orson Welles film, Citizen Kane, is thought by many to be one of the greatest masterpieces of film ever made, and it's portrayal of Charles Foster Kane was so mirroring WR Hearst that there was no doubt in any mind what it was meant to represent. So much so, Hearst dedicated some considerable time and effort during the next 10 years in order to destroy Orson Welles' career, and prevent him fulfilling his obvious potential as one of the greatest directors of all time. In much of this, once more, Hearst succeeded. Items from Hearst's collection rarely surface, as owners tend to keep hold of them for obvious reasons of historical posterity and provenance, and to be able to offer such a piece from that collection is a great privilege, and a rare opportunity for it's next fortunate owner.

*Ref; The saddle, helmet, sword and shield of King Henry V, which once formed part of his funeral 'achievements', are displayed in Westminster Abbey Museum, located in the abbey's eleventh century vaulted undercroft of St Peter. They were carried at his funeral in 1422 and later suspended on the wooden beam above the Henry V chantry for centuries, but in 1972 they were restored and placed in the abbey museum.
We show in the gallery an illustration from ‘Traictie de la Forme et Devis D'ung Tournoy’, that was written circa 1460 by King Rene of Anjou, King of Jerusalem and Sicily. The tournament book shows how a helmet, such as this one, would have been dressed for the tournament and it describes a style of tournament which Rene says he has adapted from the ancient customs of France and other countries.  read more

Code: 22346

An Fabulous Bronze and Iron Archemeanid Empire Sword From the Time of the Greco-Persian Wars of Xerxes the Great Against the Spartans at Thermopylae. The Very Type of Sword Actually Used As Depicted in The Movie 300 Spartans

To place this wonderful historical piece in a modern context. If one saw the incredible movie ‘300 Spartans’, this is exactly the same kind of sword that would have been used in that extraordinary battle, and into the period of the greatest Empire ever known of Alexander the Great.
It is 7th century to 6th century BC, and was a most rare and incredibly valuable weapon of war during that time, utilising as it does a combination of steel and bronze, as iron steel was a most rare, valuable and highly prized metal in the early ancient Bronze Age period. This wonderful sword would likely have been used and held by warriors of nobility for likely several hundred years.
A complete sword, of both blade and hilt, with leaf-shaped russetted iron blade, double-waisted grip with transverse collar, the pommel formed as two crescentic iron spayed lobes, the hilt clad with bronze. Approx 635 grams, 19.25 inches. very good condition hilt for age. Approximately 2500 years old, Achaemenid Empire era, 550 bc to 330 bc From the the Greco-Persian War, such as includes the iconic battles of Marathon, Thermopylae and Plataea, up to the time of Alexander the Great. This wonderful antiquity, from one of the most eventful and ground breaking periods of classical history, is in amazing condition and beautifully decorated 6th-4th century BC. A bronze long dagger with narrow lentoid-section blade, collared grip with crescentic ears to the pommel. By the 7th century BC, the Persians had settled in the south-western portion of the Iranian Plateau in the region of Persis, which came to be their heartland. From this region, Cyrus the Great advanced to defeat the Medes, Lydia, and the Neo-Babylonian Empire, establishing the Achaemenid Empire. The Ionian Greek Revolt in 499 BC, and associated revolts in Aeolis, Doris, Cyprus and Caria, were military rebellions by several regions of Asia Minor against Persian rule, lasting from 499 to 493 BC. At the heart of the rebellion was the dissatisfaction of the Greek cities of Asia Minor with the tyrants appointed by Persia to rule them, along with the individual actions of two Milesian tyrants, Histiaeus and Aristagoras. In 499 BC, the then tyrant of Miletus, Aristagoras, launched a joint expedition with the Persian satrap Artaphernes to conquer Naxos, in an attempt to bolster his position in Miletus (both financially and in terms of prestige). The mission was a debacle, and sensing his imminent removal as tyrant, Aristagoras chose to incite the whole of Ionia into rebellion against the Persian king Darius the Great. In 490 BC the Persian forces were defeated by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon and Darius would die before having the chance to launch an invasion of Greece. The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC, during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. The battle was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate Greece. The Greek army decisively defeated the more numerous Persians, marking a turning point in the Greco-Persian Wars. Xerxes I (485–465 BC, "Hero Among Kings"), son of Darius I, vowed to complete the job. He organized a massive invasion aiming to conquer Greece. His army entered Greece from the north, meeting little or no resistance through Macedonia and Thessaly, but was delayed by a small Greek force for three days at Thermopylae. A simultaneous naval battle at Artemisium was tactically indecisive as large storms destroyed ships from both sides. The battle was stopped prematurely when the Greeks received news of the defeat at Thermopylae and retreated. The battle was a strategic victory for the Persians, giving them uncontested control of Artemisium and the Aegean Sea.

Following his victory at the Battle of Thermopylae, Xerxes sacked the evacuated city of Athens and prepared to meet the Greeks at the strategic Isthmus of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf. In 480 BC the Greeks won a decisive victory over the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis and forced Xerxes to retire to Sardis. The land army which he left in Greece under Mardonius retook Athens but was eventually destroyed in 479 BC at the Battle of Plataea. The final defeat of the Persians at Mycale encouraged the Greek cities of Asia to revolt, and the Persians lost all of their territories in Europe; Macedonia once again became independent. Alexander the Great, an avid admirer of Cyrus the Great, conquered most of the empire by 330 BC. Upon Alexander's death, most of the empire's former territory came under the rule of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Seleucid Empire, in addition to other minor territories which gained independence at that time. The Iranian elites of the central plateau reclaimed power by the second century BC under the Parthian Empire

See Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, p.384, no.20, for similar. As with all our items it comes complete with our certificate of authenticity.  read more

Code: 23515