Antique Arms & Militaria

The Lanes Armoury, World Renown As Britain’s Best Antique Museum-Shop and Gallery, Is Closed, As Usual, This Bank Holiday Monday 25th May. We Re-open Tuesday As Normal

Last Saturday, we had pass through our doors somewhere between 2,600 to 3,200 visitors, and, as usual, just about every one most kindly expressed we were probably the most interesting and incredible shop they had ever seen. And so many continually remarked we are not really a regular shop, we are far more like a museum and gallery, that happens to be a shop as well!. As literally, every single thing we show and offer for sale, is an incredible piece of history, and many pieces they have never before even seen, let alone offered for sale, anywhere else in the country.

One very polite young man said on earlier one afternoon
“ where else in the world can you buy an arrowhead, fired by Alexander the Great’s army, for £65, sitting next to a gold fob chain, in the shape of a Zeppelin, given by the former captain and survivor, of doomed Luftschiffer airship, The Hindenburg, to a colleague in the RAF.”

However, although closed Monday, we will re-open for our thousands of personal visitors and customers, this Tuesday as usual, but we are always contactable by email, or on 07721 010085 during our closing hours this Bank Holiday..

All website activity carries on 24-7 as usual .

Why not choose an ancient or antique original collectable for your loved one, or even you! Every day we try our utmost to supply all our customers with that something really special and unique, and as usual we believe have some simply amazing offerings, thousands of them from all over the world, from ancient to vintage, and every one a little part of history.
All our items supplied with our unique lifetime guarantee of authenticity, detailing its full history as known. The Lanes Armoury is proud to be known, as declared by many of our thousands of daily visitors, as their most favourite shop in all Great Britain!

Enjoy The Lanes Armoury Website, it Has Been Over 105 Years in the Making.

Probably the only shop in Europe where you can view, and buy, original collectables from over 300,000 years of human history, from almost every major civilisation

"Gloria Antika" { translated, from the Latin, ‘Glory of the Ancient’} our old family motto, and it has been for generations, are words we live buy every, single, day.  read more

Code: 24909

Victorian Jack the Ripper Period 'Derby' Pattern Best Warranted Wrought Hard Steel Handcuffs

Two metal cuffs attached together by a metal ring on each cuff, linked with a swivel in the centre to join both ends together. One cuff has a metal key inserted in lock. Key locks, unlocks and unscrews nicely.

Hiatt & Company began manufacturing handcuffs and slave-chains in the 1780s and was the largest supplier of handcuffs to the British police.

The Whitechapel murders were committed in or near the largely impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London between 3 April 1888 and 13 February 1891. At various points some or all of these eleven unsolved murders of women have been ascribed to the notorious unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper.

The murderer or murderers were never identified and the cases remain unsolved. Sensational reportage and the mystery surrounding the identity of the killer or killers fed the development of the character "Jack the Ripper", who was blamed for all or most of the murders. Hundreds of books and articles discuss the Whitechapel murders, and they feature in novels, short stories, comic books, television shows, and films of multiple genres.

The poor of the East End had long been ignored by affluent society, but the nature of the Whitechapel murders and of the victims' impoverished lifestyles drew national attention to their living conditions. The murders galvanised public opinion against the overcrowded, unsanitary slums of the East End, and led to demands for reform. On 24 September 1888, George Bernard Shaw commented sarcastically on the media's sudden concern with social justice in a letter to The Star newspaper:  read more

Code: 24294

Spectaular Looking, Rare, Super Example of a 17th -18th Century Matchlock Musket See the Catalogue of Ottoman Firearms at the Askeri Military Museum Harbiye Istanbul. " Askeri Muze Osmanli Ve Cumhuriyet Donemi ATESLI SILAHLAR Katalogu". Ayse Cotelioglu

A rare, antique 17th century Turkish Ottoman Empire matchlock musket. The musket has an octagonal Damascus steel barrel struck with the makers mark, and a figured Circassian walnut stock extensively banded in brass. Only a few Ottoman matchlock muskets of this type survive in Turkey, most can be seen outside of Turkey at museums in Poland and Ukraine as the muskets were taken from the Turks as booty by the Poles and the Cossacks during the 17th century wars with the Ottoman Empire.

Similar guns are published in the Turkish catalogue of Ottoman Firearms at the Askeri Military Museum Harbiye Istanbul. " Askeri Muze Osmanli Ve Cumhuriyet Donemi ATESLI SILAHLAR katalogu"by Aysel Cotelioglu.

These types of Turkish guns were very popular and widely used by Zaporozhian and Don Cossacks during the 17th century. The Zaporozhian Cossacks, Zaporozhian Cossack Army, Zaporozhian Host were Cossacks who lived beyond the rapids of the Dnieper River, the land also known under the historical term Wild Fields in today's Central Ukraine. Today much of its territory is flooded by the waters of Kakhovka Reservoir.

The Zaporozhian Sich grew rapidly in the 15th century from serfs fleeing the more controlled parts of the Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth. It became established as a well-respected political entity with a parliamentary system of government. During the course of the 16th, 17th and well into the 18th century, the Zaporozhian Cossacks became a strong political and military force that challenged the authority of the Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Tsardom of Russia, and the Crimean Khanate.

The Host went through a series of conflicts and alliances involving the three powers, including supporting an uprising in the 18th century. Their leader signed a treaty with the Russians. This group was forcibly disbanded in the late 18th century by the Russian Empire, with most of the population relocated to the Kuban region in the South edge of the Russian Empire. The Cossacks served a valuable role of conquering the Caucasian tribes and in return enjoyed considerable freedom granted by the Tsars. As with all our antique guns, no license is required as they are all unrestricted antique collectables  read more

Code: 22112

A Scarce US Civil War Service 1817 Model US Army Rifle, Dated 1826, Percussion Conversion For American The Civil War

Made in Middleton Connecticut by either Simeon North or Robert Johnson. The breech is marked in three lines with US / AH / (circle) P. The P proof mark is in a depressed rosette. The inspector initials AH are those of Asabel Hubbard who was a Springfield Armory armourer and contract arms inspector.

The M1817 nicknamed the 'common rifle' in order to distinguish it from the Hall rifle was a flintlock muzzle-loaded weapon issued due to the US Dept. of Ordnance's order of 1814, produced by Henry Deringer and used from 1820s to 1840s at the American frontier, and after conversion to percussion, in the American Civil War in the 1860's.

This type of rifle-musket was used in the Civil War with service in the 2nd Mississippi Infantry, CS. A seldom seen, good looking longarm to fit any military collection, with shortened fore-stock wood, smooth bored.

Under contract with the government, Henry Deringer converted some 13,000 such flintlocks to percussion, muzzleloader rifles with the ‘drum’ or ‘French’ style system.

Unlike the half-octagon barreled Model 1814 Rifle that preceded it, it had a barrel that was round for most of its length. The barrel was rifled for .54 calibre bullets. For rifling it had seven grooves. Like the Model 1814, it had a distinctive large iron oval patchbox in the buttstock.  read more

Code: 26036

A Near Mint And Truly Magnificent, Early Victorian, 1847 Albert Pattern, British North Somerset Regimental Officer's Cavalry Helmet. Possibly The Best Original Example Outside Of The Royal Collection. Original, Crimean War Period

High polished nickle silver skull, stunningly and ornately decorated with applied mercurial gilt floral trim around the full body, visor, and down the rear of the helmet, and especially around the front badge. The badge is a diamond brilliant cut steel eight-pointed silver star on the front which was almost wholly covered by an oval device in gilt, in the centre of which is the Royal Cypher (VR) on a frosted gilt ground with the oval garter surround bearing the regimental title 'North Somerset'. Large rosettes affix the red morocco leather-backed gilt chin scales. Its mercurial flaming torch plume holder, with white horse hair plume, topped by a frosted gilt rose mount, completes the helmet magnificently. The liner is full, and intact.
Formerly from the late collection of one of England's most esteemed military antique collectors and Antiques Roadshow travelling consultant expert for around 30 years, Roy Butler

When in combat or on 'the charge' the plume could be removed. See pictures {painting and original photos} in the gallery of the helmet worn in the Crimea with and without plume.

After Britain was drawn into the French Revolutionary Wars, the government of Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger proposed on 14 March 1794 that the counties should form Corps of Yeomanry Cavalry that could be called on by the King to defend the country against invasion or by the Lord Lieutenant to subdue any civil disorder within the county. A meeting of householders at Frome in Somerset on 2 May 1798 resolved to form a military association to defend the town and country. Its services were accepted on 2 June, and the Frome Troop of Cavalry was formed. Other troops were formed at about the same time at Road, Wolverton, Mells, Beckington and Bath.

These independent troops all served until the Treaty of Amiens in 1802 when they were disbanded. The peace was short-lived and Britain declared war on France again in May 1803, beginning the Napoleonic Wars. The Frome Volunteers offered their services again in July and were accepted on 17 August as the Frome Selwood Troop of Volunteer Cavalry. The volunteers formed two troops, becoming a squadron in June 1804 when they united with the East Mendip Cavalry to become the Frome and East Mendip Regiment of Volunteer Cavalry. The regiment became the North Somerset Yeomanry in 1814 with six troops.

From 1820 to 1840 the regimental headquarters was at Mells Park, home of Thomas Strangways Horner, commanding officer (CO) from 1804 to 1839, when he was succeeded by his son. Another long-serving CO was Richard Boyle, 9th Earl of Cork and Orrery, Lt-Col Commandant

For some years the Keynsham Troop was without any officers, and although its members were keen and turned out promptly when required, their appearance and discipline had deteriorated to the point where they were known locally as 'The Cossacks'. It was disbanded in May 1842, but many of its members transferred to other troops of the regiment or joined the Gloucestershire Yeomanry Cavalry. In 1854 on the outbreak of the Crimean War, 342 out of 398 officers and men in the North Somerset regiment volunteered to serve their country.

The North Somerset Yeomanry raised the 48th (North Somerset) Company for the IY, which arrived in South Africa on 23 March 1900 and served in 7th Battalion, IY.The company served until 1901, earning the regiment its first Battle honour: South Africa 1900–01 The regiment's CO, Viscount Dungarvan was already serving in South Africa in February 1900 and was seconded to the IY as second-in-command of the 22nd Battalion in 1901–02

1/1st North Somerset Yeomanry
The 1st Line regiment mobilised at Bath in August 1914 as part of the 1st South Western Mounted Brigade. In October 1914 it moved to Sussex with the brigade, but left it shortly afterwards. It landed in France on 3 November and joined the 6th Cavalry Brigade, 3rd Cavalry Division, on 13 November, replacing the 10th Hussars who moved to the newly formed 8th Cavalry Brigade As such, it was one of only six yeomanry regiments to be posted to a regular cavalry division in the war

The regiments Battle Honours were
South Africa 1900–01
First World War
Ypres 1914 '15, Frezenberg, Loos, Arras 1917, Scarpe 1917, Amiens, Hindenburg Line, Beaurevoir, Cambrai 1918, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1914–18

Overall in simply superb condition, the original horsehair plume has very good long hair {with commensurate wear for age}. It has a storage mounting screw thread bolt for the helmets display, but its too long for wearing in mounted service with the plume affixed.

THE LANES ARMOURY, THE PREMIER HOME OF ORIGINAL AND AFFORDABLE ANCIENT ANTIQUITIES, MILITARY ARMOURY ANTIQUES & COLLECTABLES IN BRITAIN

Every single item from The Lanes Armoury, Britain's most famous, favourite, and oldest original Armoury Antique store, 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, and thus, it is a lifetime guarantee.  read more

Code: 25819

Circa 600 ad Middle Ages Sword Blade, Re-Hilted Around 1000 Years Ago At The Time of the Norman Invasion in 1066 of a Norseman Of Viking Origin. It Is Around 1400 Years Old, Later Used Around 1000 Years Ago, And The Crusades To Liberate The Holy Land

It is very rare indeed to fine an original sword from the pre Norman period, but this one is exceptional, in that it is very likely mounted with an earlier inlaid blade of the 5th to 8th century, possibly a Norse or Frankish ancestor of its Norman conquest period owner, therefore its blade was already between 300 to 500 years old, when it was hilted around 900 to 1000 years ago during the Norman Conquest. Thus the blade could be between 1300 to 1500 years old. The Normans that invaded England, Britain’s last and final conquerors, were settled Vikings, that remained in Normandy after the Viking seiges of Paris era in the 800’s.

Scandinavia as the Origin:
The Vikings, and later the Normans, originated from Scandinavia, particularly the regions of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
Raids and Settlements:
In the 9th century, Scandinavian Vikings began raiding the northern and western coasts of France.
By about 900, after six sieges of Paris, they had established a permanent foothold in the valley of the lower Seine River, eventually leading to the creation of the County of Rouen and later the Duchy of Normandy.
The intermingling between the Norse Vikings and the native Franks led to the development of a distinct Norman identity, adopting the French language, religion, and social customs.
From Vikings to Normans:
Despite their eventual adoption of Christianity and French culture, the Normans retained many of their Viking traits, such as their adventurous spirit and martial skills.
The six sieges of Paris may well have created a lesson for the future that has rarely been learned by its victims. After every siege began the Viking raiders were simply paid to go away and loot another part of France, which meant it happened six times in around 40 years. The Vikings learnt quite quickly the concept and incredible advantages of the ‘Danegeld’, { so known as such, due to, “to pay the Dane to go away, meant he will forever return for more”}.

It was the earliest Norman knights that went on the earliest crusades to liberate Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Such as Richard the Lionheart, aka King Richard the 1st. The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated and supported by the Christian Latin Church in the medieval period, primarily aimed at reclaiming the Holy Land from Muslim control. These campaigns, spanning from 1095 to 1291, were driven by a mix of religious fervor, political ambitions, and economic opportunities

The blade is shorter than when first used, with the end probably damaged and lost in combat. It is inlaid with inserts of copper, bronze and silver, in a circular bullet shaped patterns, one with 3 metal concentric circles. The pommel appears to be once further inlaid with silver. All the indications are that this amazing sword could very likely have been used by a very high ranking nobleman in the Norman Invasion 1066 period, and it most likely it had already been used by a highborn warrior or noble for almost 5 centuries prior to its re-hitting during the time of the invasion of Britain.

This piece simply a remarkable artefact from the previous two millennia.

It is a joy to own it even just for a very brief and it is still a wonderful original knight’s sword from the days of the Norman invasion, and prior to that, from the period known to historians as the ‘dark ages‘
It is an iron two-edged sword with broad two-edged lentoid-section blade, slightly tapering square-section crossguard. flat tang, D-shaped pommel, likely with inlaid silver, vertical bar to each face; the blade has traces of copper inlay to one face, to the other two applied discs: the upper copper-alloy with punched rosette detailing, the lower abraded to its present state of three concentric rings (apparently copper, bronze and silver). 850 grams, 61cm (24"). Fair condition, typical for its great age; lower blade now absent; edges notched and partly absent, all potentially due to combat.
See Oakeshott, E., Records of the Medieval Sword, Woodbridge, 1991, items X.4, X.5, and see p.21, item 8, for the blade.
The blade does not bear a fuller and is a plain lentoid-section which it is why it could well indicate a date of manufacture in the 5th-8th century, the Dark Ages in northern Europe; the crossguard and the pommel are the re-hilted later additions, more typical of the later 10th century, i.e. Petersen's Type X (Oakeshott, p.25). The Normans were an ethnic group that arose from contact between Norse Viking settlers of a region in France, named Normandy after them, and indigenous Franks and Gallo-Romans. The settlements in France followed a series of raids on the French coast mainly from Denmark — although some came from Norway and Iceland as well — and gained political legitimacy when the Viking leader Rollo agreed to swear fealty to King Charles III of West Francia following the Siege of Chartres in 911 AD. The intermingling of Norse settlers and native Franks and Gallo-Romans in Normandy produced an ethnic and cultural "Norman" identity in the first half of the 10th century, an identity which continued to evolve over the centuries. The new Norman rulers were culturally and ethnically distinct from the old French aristocracy, most of whom traced their lineage to the Franks of the Carolingian dynasty from the days of Charlemagne in the 9th century. Most Norman knights remained poor and land-hungry, and by the time of the expedition and invasion of England in 1066, Normandy had been exporting fighting horsemen for more than a generation. Many Normans of Italy, France and England eventually served as avid Crusaders soldiers under the Italo-Norman prince Bohemund I of Antioch and the Anglo-Norman king Richard the Lion-Heart, one of the more famous and illustrious Kings of England.The Story of the Norman Conquest
The majority of the scenes which together tell the story of the Norman Conquest match in many instances with medieval written accounts even if there are, as one might expect with a purely visual narrative, some omissions such as the Anglo-Saxons’ battle with Norway’s Harald Hardrada at Stamford Bridge three weeks prior to Hastings. Again because it is a visual account, with only a few Latin words as pointers, many scenes are open to several interpretations. The tapestry starts with a scene set in 1064 CE where the English king Edward the Confessor (r. 1042-1066 CE) says farewell to Harold Godwinson, his brother-in-law and the Earl of Wessex, who is to travel to Normandy on an unknown mission. Norman writers would record the mission’s purpose as a pledge of Saxon loyalty to William, Duke of Normandy, while an English chronicle suggests it was merely a visit to secure the release of Saxon prisoners. On 14 October 1066, William’s forces clashed with an English army near Hastings. Within a century of these events taking place, over a dozen writers had described the battle and its aftermath. Some of these accounts are lengthy, but they contradict each other and do not allow us to reconstruct the battle with any certainty.

English perspectives on the Battle of Hastings are found in the Old English annals known as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. In one version, perhaps copied in the 1070s, it was claimed that William built a ‘castel’ at Hastings before Harold arrived. Harold then gathered a large army but William attacked before Harold could organise his troops. There were heavy casualties on both sides: among the dead were King Harold himself and his brothers, Leofwine and Gyrth.There are also differing accounts of one of the most iconic yet debated parts of the battle: the death of Harold. Was he killed by an arrow to the eye, as claimed by Amatus of Monte Cassino, writing in the 11th century? Was he hacked to bits, as recounted by Bishop Guy of Amiens (died 1075)? Or was he shot with arrows and then put to the sword, as described by the 12th-century chronicler, Henry of Huntingdon? Hastings is one of the most famous battles in English history. Modern historians continue to debate its impact. The Norman Conquest brought many social, economic, political and cultural changes, but some people living in 11th-century England did not even consider this battle to be the most important event of 1066.

A monk writing at Christ Church, Canterbury, recorded just two events for that year in a chronicle kept at the cathedral: ‘Here King Edward died. In this year, Christ Church burned.’ Another scribe then added the words, ‘Here came William’. This is a good reminder that that the Battle of Hastings did not affect everyone in the same way, even if it became part of English folklore. This fabulous most ancient sword could be simply framed under glass for display. Almost every weapon that has survived today from this era is now in a fully russetted condition, as is this one, because only the swords of kings, that have been preserved in national or Royal collections are today still in a good state and condition. We will include for the new owner a complimentary wooden display stand, but this amazing ancient artefact of antiquity would also look spectacular mounted within a bespoke case frame, or, on a fine cabinet maker constructed display panel.  read more

Code: 23230

An Exceptional 1700-1600 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 Originally 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

A Beautiful Antique Indian Sword Shamshir Shikargar, With An impressive and Scarce 'Naga' Serpentine Blade

Beautifully artisan hand cleaned and polished, and what has been achieved is once more remarkable. It looks like it did when acquired in the 19th century to come back to England.

It has a pistol shaped khanjar style hilt, matching engraved to the blade. A shikargaha hunting sword with exotic flowers engraved and two dancing figures, as used in a typical Moghul hunt, deeply engraved on both sides of the blade, with silver darts inlaid between the back edge engraving. Also with a brass inlaid panel with a dancing figure. Its condition for its age is now very good indeed, and the snake form serpentine blade form is most beguiling and rarely seen in swords.

Likely 19th century but possibly 18th.
In the Renaissance period and beyond in Europe serpentine blades were occasionally seen, and they were named a 'flamberge' or flamboyant form blade.
Some similar types of the Islamic serpentine bladed swords are in the Imperial collection in the Topkapi Saray Museum in Istanbul, Turkey.

See "Islamic swords and swordsmiths" by Unsal Yucel. A most unusual sword in many ways, not least that it was never actually made nor worn with a scabbard. It was worn through a belt and carried without one, to be used in ceremonies or on the hunting parties.

We show in the gallery pictures of the sword before and after hand conservation and polishing. Photos 8,9,10 are taken after its polishing.  read more

Code: 22396

A Super King George IIIrd Royal Naval Bosun's 'Persuader' or 'Start'. Ideal Implement Of the Bosun When on Press-Gang Service In The Landing Party After The Ship Docks In Harbour To Replenish Crews

Georgian Royal Navy with our Royal Navy Bosun’s Starter or Cosh Persuader, circa 1800. Handmade and weighted, hardwood cosh with a leather-covered end, leather button belt mount, and original wrist strap reflects the brutal realities of the maritime world. A unique collectible in its original condition.
The "Bosun's Persuader" (also known as a Start Club, Cosh, or Starter).Were brutal instruments used during the 18th and 19th centuries by Royal Navy boatswains (bosuns) and press gangs.
They were used as a form of physical discipline to "start" or encourage lazy or slow sailors to work faster, and to enforce compliance during press-gang recruitment.
It was ironically called a "persuader" or "starter" because the strike of the club served to "start" the sailor into action. Because they were handmade by sailors, they varied significantly in length and design. They were concealable up a sleeve, or hung upon a belt, but powerful enough to cause injury or render someone unconscious if needed.

A most fascinating piece, and thus reveals the type of situations that it's owner would have had to face both while on press gang shore patrol, and in boarding party conflicts at sea. It could also be mighty handy in the darkened, sinister back streets of all the likely ports travelled by Royal Naval matelots in the Georgian to Victorian era, such as at Canton, Marseilles New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Port au Prince, Montego Bay, Kingstown, and not least London and Liverpool etc.
Press Gang – words to the song

As I walked out on London Street
A press gang there I chanced to meet
They asked me if I’d join the fleet
On board of a man-o-war, boys

Come brother shipmates tell to me
What kind of treatment they give you
That I may know before I go
On board of a man-o-war, boys

When I got there to my surprise
All they had told me was shocking lies
There was a row and a bloody old row
On board of a man-o-war, boys

The first thing they done they took me in hand
They lashed me with a ‘tar of a strand’
They flogged me till I could not stand
On board of a man-o-war, boys

Now I was married and me wife’s name was Grace
‘Twas she that led me to shocking disgrace
It’s oft I’d curse her ugly face
On board of a man-o-war, boys

When next I get may foot on shore
To see them London girls once more
I’ll never go to sea no more
On board of a man-o-war, boys

The popular image of press gangs, as illustrated right, is one of men being forcibly taken. While violence might have been threatened it was rarely used as dead or injured seamen were of no use to the Royal Navy. The last recorded press was in 1814 towards the end of Britain’s long war with Napoleon Bonaparte’s France, yet press-ganging remained legal for another 50 years. Despite a public campaign for abolition, the government retained the right to impress until the 1860s when it finally created an effective Naval Reserve to crew the fleet in an emergency.  read more

Code: 26224

A Superb British, Original, Regimental Edwardian Service Helmet. of The West Yorkshire Regiment. Blue Cloth with Gold Badge, Fittings, Spike, & Rose Head Curb Chain Mounts and Chin Chain

In excellent all original condition for age. Blue cloth with all gilt ornamentation, and service issue stamps to the interior.
The British Army’s Home Service Helmet was introduced in 1878. It was of a German influence and would replace a long line of shakos going back to the days of the Peninsular War and Waterloo. In blue cloth, sometimes green, sometime grey, sometimes with a spike, sometimes with a ball, the stiff cork headdress would become a common site on parade grounds throughout Britain for more than thirty years. Most Regular Army regiments and corps took to the helmet, as did their Militia, Volunteer and Territorial counterparts.
With the new headdress came the helmet plate, those highly desirable items of militaria much sought after today by collectors. Large, star-shaped mostly and displaying both ancient and new regimental devices, brightly they shone in their silvers, gilts, gilding and white metals, covering almost the entire front of the headdress as they did so.

The British Army during the Victorian era served through a period of great technological and social change. Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, and died in 1901. Her long reign was marked by the steady expansion and consolidation of the British Empire, rapid industrialisation and the enactment of liberal reforms by both Liberal and Conservative governments within Britain.

The British Army began the period with few differences from the British Army of the Napoleonic Wars that won at Waterloo. There were three main periods of the Army's development during the era. From the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the mid-1850s, the Duke of Wellington and his successors attempted to maintain its organisation and tactics as they had been in 1815, with only minor changes. In 1854, the Crimean War, and the Indian Rebellion of 1857 highlighted the shortcomings of the Army, but entrenched interests prevented major reforms from taking place. From 1868 to 1881, sweeping changes were made by Liberal governments, giving it the broad structure it retained until 1914.

Upon Victoria's death, the Army was still engaged in the Second Boer War, but other than expedients adopted for that war, it was recognisably the army that would enter the First World War. The Industrial Revolution had changed its weapons, transport and equipment, and social changes such as better education had prompted changes to the terms of service and outlook of many soldiers. Nevertheless, it retained many features inherited from the Duke of Wellington's army, and since its prime function was to maintain an empire which covered almost a quarter of the globe, it differed in many ways from the conscripted armies of continental Europe.

The disciplinary system was not notably more harsh than the contemporary civil Penal System, although soldiers stood less chance of severe penalties being commuted. The death sentence could apply for crimes such as mutiny or striking an officer, but was generally reserved for actions that were capital crimes in common law, such as murder. Minor infractions could be summarily punished with extra duties or stoppages of pay, but flogging remained a punishment for many offences, including minor offences, on the discretion of a court martial. A court martial could be held at regimental level (which might well be influenced by the attitude of the colonel or other senior officers), or district level where convenient, or a General Court Martial might be convened under the authority of the Commander-in-Chief for serious matters or offences involving officers.

The maximum number of strokes inflicted on a soldier sentenced to flogging (which had been a barbaric 2,000 in 1782, essentially a death sentence for nearly any man) was reduced to 300 in 1829, and then to 50 in 1847. Some regiments nevertheless rejoiced in the nicknames of the "bloodybacks" if they were notorious for the number of floggings ordered.

Only a small portion of soldiers were permitted to marry. Soldiers' wives and children shared their barracks, with only blankets slung over a line for privacy. Wives often performed services such as laundry for their husbands' companies or barracks. A particularly cruel feature of the Army's practices was that fewer soldiers' wives were allowed to accompany a unit overseas (one per eight cavalrymen or twelve infantrymen) than were permitted when serving at home. Those wives not chosen by lot to accompany the unit when it embarked were forcibly separated from their husbands, for years or for life.

Soldiers' pay was nominally one shilling per day, but this was decreased by "stoppages" of up to sixpence (half a shilling) for their daily rations, and other stoppages for the issue of replacement clothing, damages, medical services and so on. In 1847, it was laid down that a soldier must receive at least one penny per day, regardless of all stoppages. A privileged life indeed.  read more

Code: 25418