Antique Arms & Militaria

A Most Fine 18th to Early 19th Century Ottoman Empire Jannisaries Yatağan Sword, Carved Horn 'Eared' Hilt & Original Hide Covered Wooden Combat Scabbard

Overall in superb condition, the patina on both the hilt and leather scabbard is exceptional. The carved horn eared hilt is composed of two carved horn grip plates attached by three iron rivets, and is very fine indeed. It has a naturally patinated brass, fully encompassing, reinforcing strap that forms into the ricasso and shaped blade plate. The yataghan form blade, in the traditional form, is beautifully geometrically engraved upon the back edge. The polished hide covered wooden scabbard has an iron belt loop fixing. The Yatağan sword is a Turkish sword that is believed to have originated sometime in the late middle ages, around the 14th century. The first authentic findings that there are for the Yatağan are from the 15th century belonging to Suleiman the Magnificent. That sword has an inscription written on it dating it to 1526.

The formation of the Janissaries has been dated to the reign of Murad I (r. 1362–1389), the third ruler of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans instituted a tax of one-fifth on all slaves taken in war, and from this pool of manpower the sultans first constructed the Janissary corps as a personal army loyal only to the sultan. They were subjected to strict discipline, but were paid salaries and pensions upon retirement and formed their own distinctive social class. As such, they became one of the ruling classes of the Ottoman Empire, rivalling the Turkish aristocracy. The brightest of the Janissaries were sent to the palace institution, Enderun. Through a system of meritocracy, the Janissaries held enormous power, stopping all efforts to reform the military

Yatağan was widely used in the Ottoman period from the 16th century to the 19th century; is a famous and effective sword. It is also known as the Turkish Sword among foreigners and Kulakli among the people. Yatagan was a weapon of janissaries and other infantry troops.

The centre of gravity of the sword, the angle known as the Turkish curve in making swords, and the ideal strokes are difficult to use because they differ from other swords. The reason for this difference in form is to swing the enemy’s sword strokes more easily. But the destruction and chiselling power of a good user is much higher than that of contemporary swords. Although the motives and writings in Yatağan are sometimes a poem and sometimes a concise word, mostly the verses, the name of the owner of the sword, the prayers and the seal of the master making the sword are seen.

The Yatagan was mostly used by soldiers known as the Janissaries. These soldiers often had to walk long distances to defend the empire or expand its borders. That is why the scabbard was mostly made out of leather so that it would be light. It was usually carried on the side or the back of the belt.

The scabbard of the Yatagan is curved just like the blade and made wider than needed so the broadened tip can easily fit inside. It was made out of wood, leather, and even silver. It was also usually heavily decorated, especially if it was owned by a nobleman.
The Yatagan is truly a one-of-a-kind sword. There simply doesn’t seem to be a sword that can compare to it during the time period it was used. The inwardly curved blade, the lack of a crossguard, and the “ears” all contribute to the item’s one-of-a-kind appearance.

It is possible that the Greek Kopis and, in particular, the Iberian Falcata or Sica had some sort of influence on the Yatagan. However, these swords hadn’t been used for almost a thousand years by the time the Yatagan began to see use in the 14th to 19th centuries.

This sword was used throughout many regions of the Ottoman Empire that it has several different legends connected to its origins. One of the legends is about Yatagan Baba. This was a Seljuk blacksmith as well as a military commander. He conquered a village in modern-day Denizli, Turkey, and made his new home there. Being a master blacksmith, Yatagan Baba developed the Yatagan sword, which was named after him and the village he conquered.

Another legend is that at one point during the Ottoman Period, the sultan had forbidden the use of long swords by the Janissaries in peacetime because of their insubordination. They were then forced to improvise, and ordered weapons made that didn’t technically constitute a long sword.

Last photo in the gallery of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk wearing the traditional Janissary uniform Turkish yatagan swords that were the signature weapon of the Janissaries, almost a symbol of the corps.  read more

Code: 25041

A Superb Battle of Waterloo Artifact Recovered from the Battle Site, a Soldier's Silver Finger Ring,

From our recently arrived original Waterloo battle site collection.
This extraordinary Waterloo battle relic was already old when it was lost at Waterloo, and thus discovered around La Haye Sainte (named either after Jesus Christ's crown of thorns or a bramble hedge round a field nearby). Yet it is in very good condition, clear signs it has been worn , naturally, but very nicely preserved indeed.

We are very privileged to be the UK’s premier original military antiques gallery and website, and to be able to consistently, continually, and regularly, offer the finest original collectors items in our shop for over 100 years

It is a walled farmhouse compound at the foot of an escarpment on the Charleroi-Brussels road in Belgium. It has changed very little since it played a crucial part in the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.

La Haye Sainte was defended by about 400 King's German Legion troops during the Battle of Waterloo. They were hopelessly outnumbered by attacking French troops but held out until the late afternoon when they retired because their ammunition had run out. If Napoleon Bonaparte's army had captured La Haye Sainte earlier in the day, almost certainly he would have broken through the allied centre and defeated the Duke of Wellington's army.

The capture of La Haye Sainte in the early evening then gave the French the advantage of a defensible position from which to launch a potentially decisive attack on the Allied centre. However, Napoleon was too late—by this time, Blücher and the Prussian army had arrived on the battlefield and the outnumbered French army was defeated.

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 years of our family’s trading, as Britain’s oldest established, and favourite, armoury and gallery.

Perfectly wearable still, but, a small size, approx. English size K, but please note, prior to WW1, almost every male of military service age had the body mass of the equivalent to that a 9 year old boy has today {not the height though, but the body mass}. This is due to the consistent lack of protein for generation after generation {such as little or no meat etc. in the average persons diet for centuries}. For example, every uniform we have ever had, made before 1918, has to be displayed on a modern made, 8 year old boy's mannequin, in order for it to fit. Usually the only people in all society that enjoyed a bigger body mass, were the powerful, such as senior nobility, and senior members of the priesthood. Even in days of great famine, the powerful never starved, and bishops etc. comfortably fitted into the category of, 'the powerful'.  read more

Code: 25029

An Amazing and Very Fine Original Moghul Empire Katar, As With Most Of The Finest Surviving Katar It Has a 17th Century European Blade. Made and Used From the Time Of Moghul Emperor Shah Jahan

Indian katar from the era of Shah Jahan, builder of The Taj Mahal, the most famous monument to a beloved wife in the world. This wonderful Katar push dagger is mounted with a likely German sword blade from the early 1600s. It was very popular in the Moghul era to import German blades and mount them with Indian hilts. The blade is attached to the hilt with traditional multi rivetting, and the chisseled hilt is overlaid in areas of sheet silver or gold, as would be suitable for a prince. It appears gold in colour but it may be aged silver. Painting circa 1650 of Moghul Shah Shuja who was the second son of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and Empress Mumtaz Mahal, wearing his similar Katar. He was the governor of Bengal and Odissa and had his capital at Dhaka, presently Bangladesh.

Shah Jahan is best remembered for his architectural achievements. His reign ushered in the golden age of Mughal architecture. Shah Jahan commissioned many monuments, the best known of which is the Taj Mahal in Agra, in which is entombed his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. His relationship with Mumtaz Mahal has been heavily adapted into Indian art, literature and cinema. He owned the royal treasury, and several precious stones such as the Kohinoor and has thus often been regarded as the wealthiest person in history.

The death of his father Jahangir in late 1627 spurred a war of succession between his sons Shahryar and Khurram from which Shah Jahan emerged victoriously. He executed all of his rivals for the throne and crowned himself emperor on January 1628 in Agra, under the regnal title "Shah Jahan" (which was originally given to him as a princely title). His rule saw many grand building projects, including the Red Fort and the Shah Jahan Mosque. Foreign affairs saw war with the Safavids, aggressive campaigns against the Shia Deccan Sultanates,10 conflict with the Portuguese, and positive relations with the Ottoman Empire. Domestic concerns included putting down numerous rebellions, and the devastating famine from 1630-32.

In September 1657, Shah Jahan fell seriously ill. This set off a war of succession among his four sons in which his third son, Aurangzeb, emerged victorious and usurped his father's throne. Shah Jahan recovered from his illness, but Emperor Aurangzeb put his father under house arrest in Agra Fort from July 1658 until his death in January 1666. He was laid to rest next to his wife in the Taj Mahal. His reign is known for doing away with the liberal policies initiated by Akbar. Shah Jahan was an Orthodox Muslim, and it was during his time that Islamic revivalist movements like the Naqsbandi began to shape Mughal policies  read more

Code: 21565

A Superb Excavated ‘Grand Tour’ Fine Bronze Age Lance Head, Trojan War Period 3200+ Years Old. From the Legendary Age of Hector, Agamemnon,Paris, Helen of Troy and Achilles

Dominant central rib, graduating long triangular blade and engraved socket. A lance or spear head traded with the Eastern Mediterranean Scythians, Persians and Greeks during the 2nd to Ist millennium B.C. around 2700 to 3200 years ago. Copper alloy circa 1200 B.C. A beautiful Bronze Age battle spear, probably the most used and popular weapon of all the ancient wars of antiquity. Items such as this were oft acquired in the 18th and early 19th century by British noblemen and women touring famous battle sites and their regions in Europe, especially Northern France, Italy and the Middle East on their Grand Tour. Originally placed on display in the family 'cabinet of curiosities', within their country house upon their return home. A popular pastime in the 18th and 19th century, comprised of English ladies and gentlemen traveling for many months, or even years, througout classical Europe, and Middle East, acquiring antiquities and antiques for their private collections.
One such family’s descendants have been allowing us to purchase such wonderful pieces from their family collection for around the past 30 years.

We are very privileged to be the UK’s premier original military antiques gallery and website, and to be able to consistently, continually, and regularly, offer the finest original collectors items in our shop for over 100 years

This is a most handsome ancient bronze weapon from the era of the so called Trojan Wars. The ancient Greeks believed the Trojan War was a historical event that had taken place in the 13th or 12th century BC, and believed that Troy was located in modern day Turkey near the Dardanelles. In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey . "The Iliad" relates a part of the last year of the siege of Troy, while the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the Achaean leaders. Other parts of the war were told in a cycle of epic poems, which has only survived in fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets such as Virgil and Ovid.

The war originated from a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite, after Eris, the goddess of strife and discord, gave them a golden apple, sometimes known as the Apple of Discord, marked "for the fairest". Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite, as the "fairest", should receive the apple. In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women and wife of Menelaus, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and the brother of Helen's husband Menelaus, led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years due to Paris' insult. After the deaths of many heroes, including the Achaeans Achilles and Ajax, and the Trojans Hector and Paris, the city fell to the ruse of the Trojan Horse. The Achaeans slaughtered the Trojans (except for some of the women and children whom they kept or sold as slaves) and desecrated the temples, thus earning the gods' wrath. Few of the Achaeans returned safely to their homes and many founded colonies in distant shores. The Romans later traced their origin to Aeneas, one of the Trojans, who was said to have led the surviving Trojans to modern day Italy. Made in copper bronze in the Western Asiatic region. Western Asiatic bronzes refer to items dating from roughly 1500-500 BC that have been excavated since the late 1920?s in the Harsin, Khorramabad and Alishtar valleys of the Zagros Mountains especially at the site of Tepe Sialk. Scholars believe they were created by either the Cimmerians or by such related Indo-European peoples as the early Medes and Persians. Weapons from this region were highly sought after by warriors of many cultures because of their quality, balance and durability. Graduating blade with socket. Rich deep age patination with superb natural encrustations This piece is 14 1/2 inches long overall. As with all our items it comes complete with our certificate of authenticity.  read more

Code: 23019

An Original & Super, 17th Century English Civil War Period Pikeman's Partizan Polearm Head

A most scarce 17th-century Dutch partizan head with "wings" or projections at the base. These weapons were used by infantry soldiers to fend off cavalry and could be used to trap an opponent's sword. The partisan was a common polearm in the 15th and 16th centuries, gradually evolving from a short spear.

We are very privileged to be the UK’s premier original military antiques gallery and website, and to be able to consistently, continually, and regularly, offer the finest original collectors items in our shop for over 100 years

A partisan (also partizan) is a type of polearm that was used in Europe in the 16th, 17th, and 18th century. It consisted of a spearhead mounted on a long shaft, usually wooden, with protrusions on the sides which aided in parrying sword thrusts. Like the halberd, it quickly became obsolete with the arrival of practical firearms, although it stayed in use for many years as a ceremonial weapon. In profile, the head of a partisan may look similar to that of a ranseur, spontoon, ox tongue, or septum; however, unlike a ranseur, the lower parts of the head have a sharpened edge.

This is a gorgeous example of a heavily-used head of a Partizan polearm likely used during the 17th Century. This lovely example is most certainly of Continental European origin, likely German, and dates to the early to mid 17th Century.

The partizan head measures roughly 17½” long with a maximum width of 4 3/4”. The condition is overall jolly good for age, completely intact with no signs of damage

Polearm

A polearm or pole weapon is a close combat weapon in which the
main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the user's effective range and striking power. Polearms are predominantly melee weapons, with a subclass of spear-like designs fit for both thrusting and throwing. Because many polearms were adapted from agricultural implements or other fairly abundant tools, and contained relatively little metal, they were cheap to make and readily available. When warfare would break out and the belligerents had a poorer class who could not pay for dedicated military weapons, leaders would often appropriate tools as cheap weapons. The cost of training was comparatively minimal, since these conscripted farmers had spent most of their lives using these "weapons" in the fields. This made polearms the favored weapon of peasant levies and peasant rebellions the world over.

Polearms can be divided into three broad categories: those designed for extended reach and thrusting tactics used in pike square or phalanx combat; those designed to increase leverage (thanks to hands moving freely on a pole) to maximize centrifugal force against cavalry, and those designed for throwing tactics used in skirmish line combat. Because their versatility, high effectiveness and cheap cost, polearms experimentation led to many variants and were the most frequently used weapons on the battlefield bills, picks, dane axes, spears, glaives, guandaos, pudaos, poleaxes, halberds, harpoons, sovnyas, tridents, naginatas, bardiches, war scythes, and lances are all varieties of polearms.  read more

Code: 25737

A Superb Original American Civil War Issue Colt Single Action Army Revolver, .44 Calibre. 6 Shot .44” Colt Army Single Action Percussion Revolver. One Of The Most Famous Antique Revolvers Ever Made

6 Shot .44” Colt Army Single Action Percussion Revolver, numerous matching serial numbers, barrel stamped ADDRESS COL. SAMl COLT NEW-YORK U.S. AMERICA, underlever rammer, frame stamped COLTS PATENT, stepped cylinder roll engraved with naval scene and COLT PATENT, brass trigger guard, iron back strap one piece wooden grips.
This original 1860 model Colt Army 44 cal. revolver would be a most fine addition to, or start of, any collection of fine arms, a delightful revolver of American history, with a very strong spring action and average age wear.
The Colt single action army has one other fine attribute, in that it feels wonderful when held in the hand, so beautifully balanced and ergonomically designed, it really is a delight to hold, and there is no other revolver apart from its cousin the Colt single action Navy that feels quite like it. The largest percussion calibre of pistol made by Colt in the Civil War and Wild West era, and one of the most popular revolvers of the war, used by both combatant sides of the Union and the Confederacy.

As the successor to the big Colt Dragoon, this sleek and handsome hogleg packed plenty of power but was easier to handle. Colt’s 1860 was used by the U.S. Cavalry, the Texas Rangers and General Ben McCulloch’s Texas Confederates, Wells Fargo detective James Hume, Mormon “Avenging Angel” Porter Rockwell, El Paso City Marshal Dallas Stoudenmire, the James brothers Jesse James and Frank James, Wes Hardin, Sam Bass and scores of good and bad men. A true icon of 19th century America and one of the most famous and best Colt revolvers of it's type ever made. It had the greatest stopping power, and was a very popular and highly effective pistol from the Civil War, and into the Wild West era. There were many, many world famous officers and cowboys who used this very form of revolver, and Jesse James was photographed wearing several of them which he captured in combat fighting for the Confederacy in 1864 with Quantrill's Raiders. It was favoured as a side arm by cavalry, infantry, and artillery troops.

Around 200,000 were manufactured from 1860 through 1873. Colt's biggest customer was the US Government with over 127,000 units being purchased and issued to the troops. The weapon was a single-action, six-shot weapon accurate up to 75 to 100 yards, where the fixed sights were typically set when manufactured. The rear sight was a notch in the hammer, clearly visible only when the revolver was cocked.

The Colt .44-calibre “Army" Model was one of the most widely used revolvers of the Civil War. It was the revolver of choice for officers, artillerymen, and cavalrymen. The Colt .44 had a six-shot, rotating cylinder. It fired a 0.454-inch diameter round lead ball, or a conical projectile, that was propelled by a 30 grain charge of black powder ignited by a brass percussion cap that was struck by the hammer. When fired, balls had a muzzle velocity of about 750 feet per second. Good condition, some age wear. at least four matching serial numbers

As with all our antique guns no license is required as they are all unrestricted antique collectables  read more

Code: 25738

Very Small Exclusive Collection of Amazing Crossbow Relics From the 1st Battle of Scottish Independence, The Battle of Bannockburn, in 1314, Crossbow Quarrel Heads. The Decisive Victory of Robert the Bruce In Combat Against King Edward II

Recovered around 225 years ago, as a group of heads, covering about 2000 square yards, within in the battle site area, around one and a quarter miles south of Sterling. From the family of a renown 18th-19th century antiquity collector, a nobleman of Scotland. The crossbow was a weapon of both the Scots army and the British. Priced individually.

Overall the crossbowmen in the English army would have been equipped in quite a similar way to the longbowmen, apart from their choice of weapon.

The early fourteenth century was a time of great innovation in crossbow technology. Their stout bows were still being made out of wood, often the yew also used for longbows. However they were also increasingly made in a composite construction – strips of ibex or goat horn glued together formed the core, over which layers of frayed animal tendon were placed, and the whole wrapped in birch bark to seal out moisture. The most advanced bows, however, were made of tempered steel. This was a very new technology in 1314; the first documentary references to steel bows appear only around 1300.
The crossbow was a powerful weapon, with a much greater draw weight than the longbow. However the short bolts shot from the crossbow were also heavier, while the bolt’s acceleration time on the bowstring was much briefer; both of these factors meant that much more bow-strength was required to cast a crossbow bolt the same distance as a longbow arrow. The range and striking power of the crossbows at Bannockburn may not actually have been very different in real terms from those of the longbows deployed alongside them. The crossbow’s key advantage lay in the ease of its use. Only a short time was required to teach the operation of a crossbow, a stark contrast to the lifetime’s practice, beginning in childhood, which was essential for good longbow shooting.

The Battle of Bannockburn was fought on 23–24 June 1314, between the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the army of King Edward II of England, during the First War of Scottish Independence. It was a decisive victory for Robert Bruce and formed a major turning point in the war, which ended 14 years later with the de jure restoration of Scottish independence under the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton. For this reason, the Battle of Bannockburn is widely considered a landmark moment in Scottish history.

King Edward II invaded Scotland after Bruce demanded in 1313 that all supporters, still loyal to ousted Scottish king John Balliol, acknowledge Bruce as their king or lose their lands. Stirling Castle, a Scots royal fortress occupied by the English, was under siege by the Scottish army. King Edward assembled a formidable force of soldiers to relieve it—the largest army ever to invade Scotland. The English summoned 25,000 infantry soldiers and 2,000 horses from England, Ireland and Wales against 6,000 Scottish soldiers, that Bruce had divided into three different contingents. Edward's attempt to raise the siege failed when he found his path blocked by a smaller army commanded by Bruce

The Scottish army was divided into four divisions of schiltrons commanded by Bruce, his brother Edward Bruce, his nephew, Thomas Randolph, the Earl of Moray and one jointly commanded by Sir James Douglas and the young Walter the Steward. Bruce's friend, Angus Og Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, brought thousands of Islesmen to Bannockburn, including galloglass warriors, and King Robert assigned them the place of honour at his side in his own schiltron with the men of Carrick and Argyll.

After Robert Bruce killed Sir Henry de Bohun on the first day of the battle, the English withdrew for the day. That night, Sir Alexander Seton, a Scottish noble serving in Edward's army, defected to the Scottish side and informed King Robert of the English camp's low morale, telling him they could win. Robert Bruce decided to launch a full-scale attack on the English forces the next day and to use his schiltrons as offensive units, as he had trained them. This was a strategy his predecessor William Wallace had not employed. The English army was defeated in a pitched battle which resulted in the deaths of several prominent commanders, including the Earl of Gloucester and Sir Robert Clifford, and capture of many others, including the Earl of Hereford.

The Two Days of the Battle;
An English army attempting to relieve the siege of Stirling Castle was defeated by a Scottish army under Robert the Bruce over two days.

Robert Bruce had been elected guardian of Scotland in 1298, replacing William Wallace as the leader of the long campaign against the English attempt to conquer Scotland. After the devastating defeat of Wallace at Falkirk (Falkirk, 1298) and then Bruce’s own defeat at Methven (Perth & Kinross, 1306), much of Bruce’s campaign took the form of guerrilla warfare, avoiding as far as possible major set piece battles. In this way he completely changed the balance of power in Scotland, through the progressive reduction of English garrisons.

By 1314 just two major strategic fortresses remained in English hands: that on the border at Berwick and that controlling the crossing of the Forth at Stirling. But the Stirling garrison finally agreed to surrender if the English king did not arrive with a relieving force by 24th June 1314. In response Edward II mustered an army of about 12-13,000 at Berwick, marching north in May and reaching Falkirk on the 22nd June.

Bruce deployed his forces in woodland south west of Stirling, through which the major road approached the town. He carefully prepared his chosen ground, beside the Bannock burn and, as the English advanced against him, over two days of fighting achieved a dramatic victory.

The action was fought, immediately to the north of the area where the Roman road crosses the Bannockburn around 1.2 miles to the south of Stirling. Day 2: Historic Environment Scotland places the fighting around the Carse of Stirling and the Dryfield, though five main alternative sites have been identified separated by more than 2 miles.

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 years of our family’s trading, as Britain’s oldest established, and favourite, armoury and gallery .

Pictures in the gallery of crossbowmen from original Medeavil manuscripts, {not included} and a contemporary battle scene drawn from the battle

Please note, *priced individually. The bent tipped quarrel head {photos 3 and 4} is now sold!  read more

Code: 25735

A Most Fine Knightly Polish War-Hammer Nadziak or Obuch, 1500's A.D. Inlaid with Silver Cross Hatching. Certainly one of the Most Beautiful & Well Preserved We Have Ever Seen.

A fine early original war-hammer composed of an ovoid haft socket, a fierce downturned ‘tiger’s claw’ spike, and a square section hammer head, all inlaid with a stunning and intricate silver geometric design. Overall in superb condition for its great age.

We show it in the gallery with the form of haft it would have had, and indeed could do once more, but this one shown is for information only and not present or included

The name obuch is Polish and means 'the blind end of an axe', but already at the beginning of the 15th century it meant a unspecified war hammer. According to Polish sources of 17th century, the war-hammer could have been formed into the shape of an axe (czekan), or in the form of a thick, slightly sloping spike (nadziak), or curved like a round cracknel (obuch). A 17th century description states: 'It was a terrible instrument in the hand of a Pole...With the sabre one could cut off somebody’s hand, cut the face, injure the head, and the running blood of the adversary would calm down the rancour. But with the obuch one could cause a deadly wound without even seeing the blood, and – not seeing it – he would not calm down instantly, but would strike several times without cutting the skin, breaking ribs and bones at the same time.'

There is a stunning original drawing of a very similar example [we show a copy of it in the gallery] with a full description and how it was used in the attempted assassination of the king of Poland by Michal Piekarski in 1620.

The translation of the drawings text reads

:” a sledge hammer, a war hammer design called a 'Crane' with which Russian nobleman Michele [Michal] Piekarski, aged 40, wounded the King of Poland called Sigismund of Lithuania in the back with one blow of the hammer point and another of the hammer shaft (having used the metal for the first blow). This happened on Sunday the 15th of November 1620 at 9 ½ hours in Warsaw while his Majesty was in church studying the learnings of the Dominican Fathers. In June of that year [The King/the Hammer] cut to pieces .?. Polish people with the death of their earthly life.”

The drawing is perhaps the work of a political sympathiser in opposition to the Swedish annexation of Poland under Sigismund III Vasa as part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

By the end of the 16th century, the hussars had adopted enough armor to become a new, more agile heavy cavalry, using their trademark 18-foot light-long lance as their initial shock weapon. They sported breastplate, a mail shirt, forearm guards, thigh armor (cuirass), and an open-faced burgonet-like helmet called a zischaage. Total weight of a hussar’s armor was no more than 30 pounds. An animal-skin mantle, particularly leopard, was a showy form of identity and esprit de corps. Perhaps the most notable element of the latter array was the famous “wings” the hussars would sometimes wear—eagle wings attached to arching frames and a special support on their back armor or saddle. The rush of these wings during a charge was psychologically unnerving, and the extra height they gave riders was intimidating.

The war hammer was the hussars’ most common secondary weapon. Slung from the saddlebow, the early Polish hussar war hammer was of German and Italian design, with a long shaft. Two styles had names derived from Turkish. The czekan was a combination of hammerhead on one side and an ax on the other. The nadziak, perhaps the most popular war hammer, had a hexagonal head balanced by a long, slightly drooping beak.

By 1600, Polish hussars had bested all other cavalries thrown against them. Each hussar unit charged in three or four ranks, depending on terrain, with the rear rank ready to deal with flank attacks. Hussars initially attacked in open order for ease of movement and maneuvering, but nearing impact with the enemy, they would squeeze together knee to knee, moving at full gallop. This difficult maneuver not only gave them powerful crushing strength, but also minimized losses from enemy firepower.

In comparison to the heavy cavalry of the West, which depended more on sheer weight than speed, the hussars could move quickly from standing to maximum speed. The deadly lance was practical only for the first few ranks, with the rest ready with their secondary weapon of preference, the war hammer, second only to the much-revered sabre.

The haft that fitted the socket would often have been turned or carved wood, but it simply doesn't usually survive around 500 years. However a good cabinet maker or a wood turner could easily create a replacement for a fine display.

Approx 19cm long overall.

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

Code: 24624

A Large Antique Indian Ceremonial Steel Tabar Axe Inlaid in Brass, Copper & Gilt With Scene of Krishna & Temple Decor

India, 19th century. Recently returned from conservation and attention in our workshop. The result is stunning and worthy of the finest museum conservation

Of typical shape with a large crescentric cutting edge, and brass and copper nails, each side of the crescent embellished with chased brass and copper-overlaid figural decoration depicting Krishna playing the flute inside a domed shrine, flanked by two attendants holding fly-whisks, surrounded by floral sprays and vegetal tendrils, the butt with a copper-inlaid inscription and surmounted by brass chhajjas (domed pavillion-shaped structures) the top of the axe head has a sharp faceted steel spike, the patinated wooden shaft is embellished with brass rosettes and a domed pommel end. ,

This 19th century tabar - or saddle axe - is Indian. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the tabar was a standard weapon given to calvalrymen on the field of battle. The tabar would have been carried under the horseman's saddle. This is the elaborate ceremonial version of the tabar saddle axe.
Krishna
Krishna, Sanskrit Kṛṣṇa, one of the most widely revered and most popular of all Indian divinities, worshipped as the eighth incarnation (avatar, or avatara) of the Hindu god Vishnu and also as a supreme god in his own right. Krishna became the focus of numerous bhakti (devotional) cults, which have over the centuries produced a wealth of religious poetry, music, and painting. The basic sources of Krishna’s mythology are the epic Mahabharata and its 5th-century-CE appendix, the Harivamsha, and the Puranas, particularly Books X and XI of the Bhagavata-purana. They relate how Krishna (literally “black,” or “dark as a cloud”) was born into the Yadava clan, the son of Vasudeva and Devaki, who was the sister of Kamsa, the wicked king of Mathura (in modern Uttar Pradesh). Kamsa, hearing a prophecy that he would be destroyed by Devaki’s child, tried to slay her children, but Krishna was smuggled across the Yamuna River to Gokula (or Vraja, modern Gokul), where he was raised by the leader of the cowherds, Nanda, and his wife Yashoda.

The child Krishna was adored for his mischievous pranks; he also performed many miracles and slew demons. As a youth, the cowherd Krishna became renowned as a lover, the sound of his flute prompting the gopis (wives and daughters of the cowherds) to leave their homes to dance ecstatically with him in the moonlight. His favourite among them was the beautiful Radha. At length, Krishna and his brother Balarama returned to Mathura to slay the wicked Kamsa. Afterward, finding the kingdom unsafe, Krishna led the Yadavas to the western coast of Kathiawar and established his court at Dvaraka (modern Dwarka, Gujarat). He married the princess Rukmini and took other wives as well.

Krishna refused to bear arms in the great war between the Kauravas (sons of Dhritarashtra, the descendant of Kuru) and the Pandavas (sons of Pandu), but he offered a choice of his personal attendance to one side and the loan of his army to the other. The Pandavas chose the former, and Krishna thus served as charioteer for Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers. On his return to Dvaraka, a brawl broke out one day among the Yadava chiefs in which Krishna’s brother and son were slain. As the god sat in the forest lamenting, a huntsman, mistaking him for a deer, shot him in his one vulnerable spot, the heel, killing him.

85cm high.  read more

Code: 24667

A Singularly Beautiful Napoleonic Wars, Elite Cuirassier's 'Year 13' Imperial French Dated Sword, Of The War of The 100 Days, Culminating at the Battle Of Quatre Bras & The Battle of Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington's Decisive Victory Over Napoleon

Superb and beautiful hilt, with very fine original leather bound grip, and a very fine double fullered blade with stunning bright patina. Steel combat scabbard without denting.

We are very privileged to be the UK’s premier original military antiques gallery and website, and to be able to consistently, continually, and regularly, offer the finest original collectors items in our shop for over 100 years

French Napoleonic 'An 13', year 13 swords, were manufactured from 1805 and discontinued in late 1815, whereupon it was superceded in general by the later hilt style of the 1816 model, although some of the surviving models, such as this beauty, continued in service.
Renown throughout the world of historic sword collectors as probably the biggest and most impressive cavalry sword ever designed. This would have seen service in the Elite Cuirassiers of Napoleon's great heavy cavalry regiments.

Napoleon hoped to compel Tsar Alexander I of Russia to cease trading with British merchants through proxies in an effort to pressure the United Kingdom to sue for peace. The official political aim of the campaign was to liberate Poland from the threat of Russia. Napoleon named the campaign the Second Polish War to curry favour with the Poles and provide a political pretence for his actions. The Grande Armee was a very large force, numbering nearly half a million men from several different nations. Through a series of long marches Napoleon pushed the army rapidly through Western Russia in an attempt to bring the Russian army to battle, winning a number of minor engagements and a major battle at Smolensk in August. Napoleon hoped the battle would mean an end of the march into Russia, but the Russian army slipped away from the engagement and continued to retreat into Russia, while leaving Smolensk to burn. Plans Napoleon had made to quarter at Smolensk were abandoned, and he pressed his army on after the Russians. The battles continued, but once the winter set in Napoleon's army was facing insurmountable odds that left it effectively shattered beyond repair. Napoleon fled, it is said, dressed as a woman, and the army left to it's sad and miserable fate. Only around 27,000 were able to return after a mere six months of the Russian campaign. The campaign was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. The reputation of Napoleon was severely shaken, and French hegemony in Europe was dramatically weakened. The Grande Armee, made up of French and allied invasion forces, was reduced to a fraction of its initial strength. These events triggered a major shift in European politics. France's ally Prussia, soon followed by Austria, broke their alliance with France and switched camps. This triggered the War of the Sixth Coalition. The Cuirassiers Heavy Cavalry Regiments used the largest men in France, recruited to serve in the greatest and noblest cavalry France has ever had. They fought with distinction at their last great conflict at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, and most of the Cuirassiers swords in England very likely came from that field of conflict, after the battle, as trophies of war. However, this sword was one of the few that were allowed to remain in the elite cuirassier corps after Waterloo, serving King Louis XVIIIth both before Napoleon's 100 days, and after his crushing defeat by Wellington at Waterloo. Inspected on the blade by Napoleonic inspectors, Lobstein and Bick, also back strap engraved Manufacture Rle January 1815. Made during the abdication period and used in the War of the 100 days. Less than a year following his abdication (April 6, 1814) and the Bourbon Restoration, Napoleon left his island exile in the Tyrrhenian Sea and landed at Cannes on March 1, leading 1,500 men, and marched at once upon Paris. Louis XVIII fled to Ghent on March 13, and Napoleon entered Paris one week later. To broaden his support, Napoleon made liberal changes to the Imperial Constitution, which led a number of former opponents, most notably Benjamin Constant, to rally to his cause. On March 25 Austria, Britain, Prussia, and Russia concluded an alliance against Napoleon and forced a series of military engagements leading up to the fatal Battle of Waterloo (June 18).

Every warrior that has ever entered service for his country sought trophies. The Mycenae from a fallen Trojan, the Roman from a fallen Gaul, the GI from a fallen Japanese, the tradition stretches back thousands of years, and will continue as long as man serves his country in battle. In the 1st century AD the Roman Poet Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis Juvenal
wrote; "Man thirsts more for glory than virtue. The armour of an enemy, his broken helmet, the flag ripped from a conquered trireme, are treasures valued beyond all human riches. It is to obtain these tokens of glory that Generals, be they Roman, Greek or barbarian, brave a thousand perils
and endure a thousand exertions". A truly magnificent Napoleonic sword in superb condition for it's age.
The largest sword of it's kind that was ever made or used by the world's greatest cavalry regiments. The cuirassiers were the greatest of all France's cavalry, allowing only the strongest men of over 6 feet in height into it's ranks. The French Cuirassiers were at their very peak in 1815, and never again regained the wonder and glory that they truly deserved at that time. To face a regiment of, say, 600 charging steeds bearing down upon you mounted with armoured giants, brandishing the mightiest of swords that could pierce the strongest breast armour, much have been, quite simply, terrifying. The brass basket guard on this sword is first class, the grip is totally original leather and a great colour
only shows expected combat wear, the blade is double fullered and absolutely as crisp as one could hope for. Made in the Napoleonic Wars period.
Used at Quatre-Bras and Waterloo. Apparently every remaining French elite cuirassier regiment fought at Waterloo for Napoleon, and there were no cuirassier reserve, and there were no cuirassier militia

The blade has wonderful steel bright colour, and the hilt has fabulous patina. Overall 45.5 inches long in its scabbard, the spear pointed blade is 37.7 inches long. Old original aged patina and regular usual surface blacking to the scabbard steel.  read more

Code: 25736