A Good Shinto Aikuchi Tanto Samurai Dagger With a Fine & Beautiful Polish Blade. Around 400 years Old. All Original Edo Period Koshirae
The blade has a fine Hamon with a full, back edge temper, and a running itami grain hada. With giant rayskin bound hilt grip and black speckled dark red lacquer saya. Flying geese kozuka, carved buffalo black horn fittings. Shinto period, circa 1620.
Tanto first began to appear in the Heian period, however these blades lacked artistic qualities and were purely weapons. In the Early Kamakura period high quality tanto with artistic qualities began to appear, and the famous Yoshimitsu (the greatest tanto maker in Japanese history) began his forging. Tanto production increased greatly around the Muromachi period and then dropped off in the Shinto period. Shinto period tanto are quite rare. Tanto were mostly carried by Samurai; commoners did not generally carry them. Women sometimes carried a small tanto called a kaiken in their obi for self defence.It was sometimes worn as the shoto in place of a wakizashi in a daisho, especially on the battlefield. Before the 16th century it was common for a Samurai to carry a tachi and a tanto as opposed to a katana and a wakizashi. all the fittings and lacquer are original Edo period, the old saya lacquer has some usual wear marks, and the kozuka small utility knife handle has a small area of age denting.
As once told to us by an esteemed regular visitor, Victor Harris, to us here in our gallery, and the same words that are repeated in his book;
“In these textures lies an extraordinary and unique feature of the sword {all samurai edge weapons are called swords, despite however small} - the steel itself possesses an intrinsic beauty. The Japanese sword has been appreciated as an art object since its perfection some time during the tenth century AD. Fine swords have been more highly prized than lands or riches, those of superior quality being handed down from generation to generation. In fact, many well-documented swords, whose blades are signed by their makers, survive from nearly a thousand years ago. Recognizable features of the blades of hundreds of schools of sword-making have been punctiliously recorded, and the study of the sword is a guide to the flow of Japanese history.”
Victor Harris
Curator, Assistant Keeper and then Keeper (1998-2003) of the Department of Japanese Antiquities at the British Museum. He studied from 1968-71 under Sato Kenzan, Tokyo National Museum and Society for the Preservation of Japanese Swords
Overall length in saya approx 16 inches, blade 11 inches. read more
2475.00 GBP
A Most Interesting and Intriguing 18th Century Small Sword, circa 1770, with a Trefoil Colichemarde blade
Gilt hilt with numerous classical representations of male and female figures. The figures are intriguing to say the least, upon the double shell guard there are a pair of male and female figures, each holding classical noble sceptres, the male figure has a somewhat Egyptian hair style and a tall crown, but also bat type wings. The pommel has an embossed portrait bust of a classical king, and the quillon block has two classical figures, both with staff, one with a cloak one without, but intriguingly and rarely seen, the cloakless male figure has his obvious full compliment of 'gentleman's marital equipment' see photo, which is most rare to see on antique weaponry. The sword bears a trefoil colichemarde blade that is beautifully inlaid with a 1.75 inch panel of copper-gold alloy in a geometric pattern. The grip is multi wire bound over wood that is a tad spaced now through age. The small sword or smallsword is a light one-handed sword designed for thrusting which evolved out of the longer and heavier rapier of the late Renaissance. The height of the small sword's popularity was between mid 17th and late 18th century. It is thought to have appeared in France and spread quickly across the rest of Europe. The small sword was the immediate predecessor of the French duelling sword (from which the épée developed) and its method of use—as typified in the works of such authors as Sieur de Liancour, Domenico Angelo, Monsieur J. Olivier, and Monsieur L'Abbat—developed into the techniques of the French classical school of fencing. Small swords were also used as status symbols and fashion accessories; for most of the 18th century anyone, civilian or military, with pretensions to gentlemanly status would have worn a small sword on a daily basis.
The small sword could be a highly effective duelling weapon, and some systems for the use of the bayonet were developed using the method of the smallsword as their foundation, (including perhaps most notably, that of Alfred Hutton).
The highly distinctive colishmarde blades appeared in 1680 and were popular during the next 40 years at the royal European courts. The colichemarde bladed swords had a special popularity with the officers of the French and Indian War period. Even George Washington had a very fine one just as this example.
The colichemarde descended from the so-called "transition rapier", which appeared because of a need for a lighter sword, better suited to parrying. It was not so heavy at its point; it was shorter and allowed a limited range of double time moves.The colichemarde in turn appeared as a thrusting blade too and also with a good parrying level, hence the strange, yet successful shape of the blade.
This sword appeared at about the same time as the foil. However the foil was created for practising fencing at court, while the colichemarde was created for dueling. With the appearance of pocket pistols as a self-defense weapon, the colichemardes found an even more extensive use in dueling.
This was achieved thanks to a wide forte (often with several fullers), which then stepped down in width after the fullers ended.The result of this strange shape was a higher maneuverability of the sword: with the weight of the blade concentrated in one's hand it became possible to maneuver the blade at a greater speed and with a higher degree of control, allowing the fencer to place a precise thrust at his/her adversary. The knuckle bow has been removed by design and there is no sharp tip point remaining to the overall russetted blade.
Overall 26.75 inches long overall, hilt 5.25 inches. read more
An Original Ancient Greek Sword as Used by King Odysseus King of Ithaca, During The Siege Of Troy, And As incredibly Depicted in Homer's Poem The Iliad, and Homer's The Odyssey Named After Odysseus
One of two similar swords we acquired formerly from a collector of antiquities.
Naturally it cannot be assumed to have been used by the most famed character in Homer's iconic poetry, however, if he was real, this is exactly the sword he would likely have used, some 3200 years ago.
A wonderful original artifact of classical history, made and used by a Greek warrior from circa 1200 b.c. A Superb ancient Greek bronze age sword blade with fabulous areas of crystallized malachite blue/green patina. From the era of the legendary Mycenaean Greek Trojan Wars.
The story of the Trojan War the Bronze Age conflict between the kingdoms of Troy and Mycenaean Greece straddles the history and mythology of ancient Greece and inspired the greatest writers of antiquity, from Homer, Herodotus and Sophocles to Virgil. Since the 19th-century rediscovery of the site of Troy in what is now western Turkey, archaeologists have uncovered increasing evidence of a kingdom that peaked and may have been destroyed around 1,180 B.C. perhaps forming the basis for the tales recounted by Homer some 400 years later in the Iliad and the Odyssey. According to classical sources, the war began after the abduction (or elopement) of Queen Helen of Sparta by the Trojan prince Paris. Helen’s jilted husband Menelaus convinced his brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, to lead an expedition to retrieve her. Agamemnon was joined by the Greek heroes Achilles, Odysseus, Nestor and Ajax, and accompanied by a fleet of more than a thousand ships from throughout the Hellenic world. They crossed the Aegean Sea to Asia Minor to lay siege to Troy and demand Helen’s return by Priam, the Trojan king. The siege, punctuated by battles and skirmishes including the storied deaths of the Trojan prince Hector and the nearly-invincible Achilles, lasted more than 10 years until the morning the Greek armies retreated from their camp, leaving a large wooden horse outside the gates of Troy. After much debate (and unheeded warnings by Priam’s daughter Cassandra), the Trojans pulled the mysterious gift into the city. When night fell, the horse opened up and a group of Greek warriors, led by Odysseus, climbed out and sacked the Troy from within. After the Trojan defeat, the Greeks heroes slowly made their way home. Odysseus took 10 years to make the arduous and often-interrupted journey home to Ithaca recounted in the Odyssey. Helen, whose two successive Trojan husbands were killed during the war, returned to Sparta to reign with Menelaus. After his death, some sources say she was exiled to the island of Rhodes, where a vengeful war widow had her hanged.
Photo in the gallery of an Attic black figure vase that shows Theseus killing the Minotaur of the Cretan labyrinth with an identical pattern of Greek sword. A feminine figure looks on from the right, possibly Ariadne. Late 6th, early 5th century BCE. (Archaeological Museum, Milan). See discussion in Branigan, K. Aegean Metalwork of the Early and Middle Bronze Age, Oxford, 1974, p.8-21. 15.5 inches long overall
Every item is accompanied with our unique, Certificate of Authenticity. Of course any certificate of authenticity, given by even the best specialist dealers, in any field, all around the world, is simply a piece of paper,…however, ours is backed up with the fact we are the largest dealers of our kind in the world, with over 100 years and four generation’s of professional trading experience behind us read more
3250.00 GBP
A Very Fine, Original, Ancient, Punic War Period Early Roman Republic Era Short Sword, A Gladius Hispaniensis Double Leaf Shaped Bronze Blade Circa 2,300 Years Old From The Time Of Alexander The Great and Early Rome.
Gladius is a Latin word properly referring to the type of sword that was used by ancient Roman foot soldiers starting from the Republic period of the 3rd century BC, and until the mid Roman Empire period of 3rd century AD. From thence forward the more standard Roman sword was the spartha
Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those of the Greeks, called xiphe . From the 3rd century BC, however, the Romans adopted a weapon based on the sword of the Celtiberians of Hispania in service to Carthage during the Punic Wars, known in Latin as the gladius hispaniensis, meaning "Hispanic-type sword". Over time, the Romans improved their sword into an iron version weapon, depending on how Roman battle units waged war, and also created a number of variants. By 20 BC the Hispaniensis was replaced by the Mainz gladius (named after Roman swords found in Germany), in turn replaced by the Pompeii gladius. Finally, in the third century AD the heavy Roman infantry replaced the gladius with the spatha (already common among Roman cavalrymen), relegating the gladius as a weapon for light Roman infantry.
The Roman Republic had been aggressively expanding in the southern Italian mainland for a century before the First Punic War. It had conquered peninsular Italy south of the Arno River by 270 BC, when the Greek cities of southern Italy (Magna Graecia) submitted after the conclusion of the Pyrrhic War. During this period of Roman expansion Carthage, with its capital in what is now Tunisia, had come to dominate southern Iberia, much of the coastal regions of North Africa, the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia and the western half of Sicily in a thalassocracy.
Beginning in 480 BC Carthage fought a series of inconclusive wars against the Greek city-states of Sicily, led by Syracuse. By 264 BC Carthage was the dominant external power on the island, and Carthage and Rome were the preeminent powers in the western Mediterranean. Relationships were good and the two states had several times declared their mutual friendship via formal alliances: in 509 BC, 348 BC and around 279 BC. There were strong commercial links. During the Pyrrhic War of 280–275 BC, against a king of Epirus who alternately fought Rome in Italy and Carthage on Sicily, Carthage provided materiel to the Romans and on at least one occasion used its navy to ferry a Roman force. According to the classicist Richard Miles Rome had an expansionary attitude after southern Italy came under its control, while Carthage had a proprietary approach to Sicily. The interaction of these conflicting policies caused the two powers to stumble into war more by accident than design. The immediate cause of the war was the issue of control of the independent Sicilian city state of Messana (modern Messina). In 264 BC Carthage and Rome went to war, starting the First Punic War
A picture is shown in the gallery of a vase painting depicting a hoplite, 5th century BC. He is armed with a bronze cuirass, a leaf shaped hoplite sword and a hoplite shield of the Argive type, very similar to the gladius hispaniensis. (Paris, Louvre Museum). We show another sword carried in a period vase painting of the Death of Actaeon.
Bronze copper alloy, with superb natural age patination. And likely, the copper of the alloy was sourced from the ancient Cretan copper mines, with a percentage of added tin, in order to create the stronger bronze alloy. Small old age crack at the base of the blades tang. The Hilt would have been made from organic material, such as horn, bone or wood, a material that never survives once buried for the two millennia since it was last used in war. So all that remains is the bronze blade and its tang read more
1875.00 GBP
An Original Ancient Greek Sword as Used by King Odysseus King of Ithaca, During The Siege Of Troy, And As incredibly Depicted in Homer's Poem The Iliad, and Homer's The Odyssey Named After Odysseus
A Superb ancient Greek bronze age sword blade, from the ancient pre-history period 'Heroic Age', with fabulous areas of crystallized malachite blue/green patina. From the era of the Mycenaean and Ithacan Greek Trojan Wars,. in overall fabulous condition.
Naturally it cannot be assumed to have been used by the most famed character in Homer's iconic poetry, however, if he was real, this is exactly the sword he would likely have used, some 3200 years ago.
The Hilt, which no longer exists, would have been made from organic material such as horn, bone or wood, and that form of material never survives once buried for the three millennia since it was used in war period in around 1200 B.C.Thus, all that remains is the bronze blade's tang and the iconic leaf form blade. The bronze for this blade, which was likely made from the Cretan copper mines, as an alloy, with an element of added tin.
The story of the Trojan War the Bronze Age conflict between the kingdoms of Troy and Mycenaean Greece straddles the history and mythology of ancient Greece and inspired the greatest writers of antiquity, from Homer, Herodotus and Sophocles to Virgil. Since the 19th-century rediscovery of the site of Troy in what is now western Turkey, archaeologists have uncovered increasing evidence of a kingdom that peaked and may have been destroyed around 1,180 B.C. perhaps forming the basis for the tales recounted by Homer some 400 years later in the Iliad and the Odyssey. According to classical sources, the war began after the abduction (or elopement) of Queen Helen of Sparta by the Trojan prince Paris. Helen's jilted husband Menelaus convinced his brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, to lead an expedition to retrieve her. Agamemnon was joined by the Greek heroes Achilles, Odysseus, Nestor and Ajax, and accompanied by a fleet of more than a thousand ships from throughout the Hellenic world. They crossed the Aegean Sea to Asia Minor to lay siege to Troy and demand Helen’s return by Priam, the Trojan king. The siege, punctuated by battles and skirmishes including the storied deaths of the Trojan prince Hector and the nearly-invincible Achilles, lasted more than 10 years until the morning the Greek armies retreated from their camp, leaving a large wooden horse outside the gates of Troy. After much debate (and unheeded warnings by Priam's daughter Cassandra), the Trojans pulled the mysterious gift into the city. When night fell, the horse opened up and a group of Greek warriors, led by Odysseus, climbed out and sacked the Troy from within. After the Trojan defeat, the Greeks heroes slowly made their way home.
Odysseus took 10 years to make the arduous and often-interrupted journey home to Ithaca recounted in the Odyssey. Helen, whose two successive Trojan husbands were killed during the war, returned to Sparta to reign with Menelaus. After his death, some sources say she was exiled to the island of Rhodes, where a vengeful war widow had her hanged.
The Greek Heroic Age, in mythology, is the period between the coming of the Greeks to Thessaly and the Greek warriors' return from Troy after their return with Helen of Troy. The poet Hesiod (fl. c. 700 BCE) identified this mythological era as one of his five Ages of Man. The period spans roughly six generations; the heroes denoted by the term are superhuman, though not divine, and are celebrated in the literature of Homer and of others, such as Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides.
The Greek heroes can be grouped into an approximate mythic chronology, based on the stories of events such as the Argonautic expedition and the Trojan War. Over the course of time, many heroes, such as Heracles, Achilles, Hector and Perseus, came to figure prominently in Greek mythology.
Early heroes
Many of the early Greek heroes were descended from the gods and were part of the founding narratives of various city-states. They also became the ancestors of later heroes. The Phoenician prince Cadmus, a grandson of Poseidon, was the first Greek hero and the founder of Thebes.
Perseus, famous for his exploits well before the days of his great-grandson, Heracles, was the son of Zeus. Perseus beheaded the Medusa, saved Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus, and was the legendary founder of Mycenae.
Aeacus was also a son of Zeus. Bellerophon was descended from the nymph Orseis. Oenomaus, king of Pisa, in the Peloponnese, was the son of Ares.
Among these early heroes the three - Cadmus, Perseus and Bellerophon - were considered the greatest Greek heroes and slayers of monsters before the days of Heracles.
Of course, despite the Age of Heroes and the time of the Gods of Olympus, being based almost entirely on mythology, apart from the actual city of Troy, which is now proved to be not a myth, the real warriors that lived during that age and time, in ancient pre-history, actually existed, and this is their very form of sword, and one that they would have used.
Photo in the gallery of an Attic black figure vase that shows Theseus killing the Minotaur of the Cretan labyrinth with an identical pattern of Greek sword. A feminine figure looks on from the right, possibly Ariadne. Late 6th, early 5th century BCE. (Archaeological Museum, Milan). See discussion in Branigan, K. Aegean Metalwork of the Early and Middle Bronze Age, Oxford, 1974, p.8-21. `15.5 inches long overall read more
3250.00 GBP
A Superb & Most Scarce King George IIIrd Period Therapeutic Phlebotomy Mechanical Instrument, A Scarifyer Of Superb Quality by Ferguson of London. A Pistol Action To Instantaneously Release & Retract 12 Rotating Blades to Slice The Skin For Blood Letting
A fabulous Georgian collectable, mechanical scientific medical instrument, and a superb conversation piece.
Made in 1822 by Daniel Ferguson, 14 Castle Street, London
A phlebotomy scarificator (or scarifyer) is a historical 18th- and 19th-century spring-loaded medical device used to perform bloodletting by making multiple, uniform shallow cuts in the skin.
One of the best condition and beautiful examples, outside of the Science Museum, we have seen in the past 50 years
The Spring-Action Mechanism The device was armed by cocking a lever like a pistol hammer, and placed the instrument flat side down firmly against the patient's skin (typically on the back, arms, or legs).
When the practitioner pressed a trigger, a complex internal gear system released a series of rotating or snapping concealed blades—usually numbering around 12—which instantly slashed the flesh.
Practitioners used bloodletting under the belief that draining blood could re-balance the body's four fundamental "humors" and cure ailments ranging from fevers and infections to mental illness.
Compared to a single handheld lancet or knife, the multi-bladed scarificator was considered a more sophisticated and rapid way to draw a large volume of blood.
By the late 19th century, medical science advanced, proving that the ancient practice of bloodletting lacked therapeutic value for most conditions and often worsened patient outcomes, rendering the scarificator obsolete
See you tube film on their action, use and lack of efficacy from the Medical History Museum In Mebourne Australia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTF0yGGjZEQ&t=100s read more
375.00 GBP
Rare WWI Winchester 1913, 1917 Dated Sword Bayonet With Dark Green Leather Scabbard, Made For The Remington WW1 Rifle, Used In WW2 By The British Home Guard
Excellent plus, and an exceptional example with natural age wear. Bright polished steel blade and mounts excellent leather scabbard
The American U.S. Model 1913 dated 1917 Remington Sword-Bayonet , but made by the much rarer maker Winchester, in leather and steel scabbard with steel clip American military belt mount. It has an excellent bright polish blade. Known as a 'sleeper', in the collecting market, in that it was put into storage in 1946 and hasn't seen the light of day since, we have just acquired a super collection of bayonets all in stored condition since the end of the war.
This is a superb 1913- 1917 pattern bayonet marked to the blade with 1917 over W in a circle on one side, and US. These bayonets were originally manufactured by the U.S. in WWI and acquired by the British in WWII for use mainly by the Home Guard.
Pattern 1913/17. In excellent order. Made by Winchester. The pattern of bayonet that was continually used in WW2 by the British Home Guard. With twin cuts in the wood grip added to differentiate for British forces that it was the American bayonet and not a British 1907 Wilkinson.
Originally the bayonet design was made for the British in September 1917 by Remington in the US as the 1913 Pattern intended to be issued with the P14 Rifle in .303 inch calibre. However, when America entered the war they changed production of the P14 rifle over to .30 inch calibre, at which point it became their M17 rifle. As the calibre change meant no alteration to the bayonet was required they basically took the unfinished/unshipped bayonets and made them American property by over-stamping the British marks with American marks, thus becoming M1917 bayonets.
The P14's principal combat use during World War I was as a sniper rifle, since it was found to be more accurate than the Short Magazine Lee–Enfield, either in standard issue form or with modified "fine-adjustment" aperture rearsights designated Pattern 1914 Mk I W (F) and Pattern 1914 Mk I* W (F) or, from April 1918, Aldis Pattern 1918 telescopic sights designated Pattern 1914 Mk I* W (T) (modified and telescopic sights were mainly used on Winchester-manufactured rifles, the Winchesters being thought to be of superior quality). During WW2 the rifle was also used again as a sniper rifle, the configuration being different from the World War I incarnation.
2 notches can be seen on the wooden handle as to distinguish it from SMLE bayonets as both rifles and blades were, though very similar incompatible with the other.
We have seen these scarce US bayonets in the States regularly sell for between $450 to $500 read more
235.00 GBP
A Large Original Recovered Piece of a WW2 German Crashed Bomber's Alloy Wing Top Panel
Taken from a crashed German bomber, with original wing-top paint. Numerous rivet holes and rivet heads present. Typical german wing-top paint for a bomber aircraft. There is a partial printed word on the underside and with dilligent research it should be traceable to a specific bomber type.
Over the years we have had some amazing aeronautical archeological finds, and most have been identified by their approved, and gov. registered recoverers, yet this fine piece was placed in storage, and it’s plane I’d was mislaid, so the research for it has to start again if it is needed, but the price reflects that, and it may well reveal wonderful results.
14.75 inches x 22.0 inches. Just over 3.5 pounds weight. read more
395.00 GBP
A Rare Crimean War Issue, P1839 Tower of London Royal Naval Sea Service Pistol, In Spectacular, As issued Condition, With Original Finish, Blue and Stock Varnish. Positively and Profusely Stamped & Ordnance Marked, With Numerous Inspection Marks
VR Crown Tower lock with date 1855, stock maker marked by the ordnance contractor.
The new Pattern 1839 Sea Service Pistol, was a single shot percussion action sidearm with a captive ramrod, and was adopted for use by the Royal Navy from 1839. This pistol was nearly identical to the Pattern 1839 British Naval Coast Guard Pistol, but with two significant exceptions. First, the calibre was reduced to 26-Bore (about .57 caliber) and secondly, the pistol was mounted with an additional conventional belt hook rather than just the butt swivel. One other change was the elimination of the bolted safety behind the cock.
The list below was of the ships of the Royal Navy, issued with this pistol for use in the Crimean war, alongside their launch dates.
Arrow-class gunvessel
HMS Agamemnon (1852)
HMS Ajax (1809)
HMS Amphion (1846)
HMS Arrogant (1848)
HMS Ardent (1841)
HMS Basilisk (1848)
HMS Beagle (1854)
HMS Belleisle (1819)
HMS Blenheim (1813)
HMS Boscawen (1844)
HMS Britannia (1820)
HMS Calcutta (1831)
HMS Cornwallis (1813)
HMS Cossack (1854)
HMS Cruizer (1852)
HMS Cumberland (1842)
HMS Cyclops (1839)
HMS Dauntless (1847)
HMS Driver (1840)
HMS Duke of Wellington (1852)
HMS Edinburgh (1811)
HMS Euryalus (1853)
HMS Eurydice (1843)
HMS Exmouth (1854)
HMS Gorgon (1837)
HMS Hornet (1854)
HMS Imperieuse (1852)
HMS James Watt
HMS La Hogue
HMS Leander (1848)
HMS London (1840)
HMS Majestic (1853)
HMS Merlin (1838)
HMS Miranda (1851)
HMS Monarch (1832)
HMS Neptune (1832)
HMS Nile (1839)
HMS Odin (1846)
HMS Orion (1854)
HMS Pique (1834)
HMS Prince Regent (1823)
HMS Princess Royal (1853)
HMS Queen (1839)
HMS Rodney (1833)
HMS Royal George (1827)
HMS Sans Pareil (1851)
HMS St Jean d'Acre
HMS Tartar (1854)
HMS Tiger (1849)
HMS Valorous (1851)
HMS Virago (1842)
HMS Vulture (1843)
The 1839 Sea Service pistols, and WD contract Colt Navy revolvers, were also used in service by the Navy and Marines in the Second Opium War in China.The Colt revolvers for use by the officers, and the sailors and Marines, the single shot sea service pistols.
The Second Opium War, which brought English Camp's Royal Marines to Guangzhou, started after the Chinese seized a suspected pirate ship that was registered as a British merchant vessel, and the murder by the Chinese of a French priest. In retaliation, Britain made an alliance with France began destroying Chinese forts and eventually gathered an international force that would include British, French, and American combatants. This war would last for four years and climaxed with the burning and looting of the Summer Palace in Beijing, shortly after the Royal Marines arrived at English Camp. The Americans joined as allied combatants in the war, but didn’t make a formal alliance with the Anglo French force. read more
1450.00 GBP
A Pair Of Finest Irish Silver Mounted Holster Pistols By John Govers Of Dame St. Dublin 1760. Finest Silver Cartouches Each One Engraved With The Original Owner, An Irish Duke's, Noble Crests, Of Irish Ducal Crowned Lions Passant, Set In Noble Shields
John Gover is recorded working in Dame Street, Dublin between 1745 and the year of his death in 1774. 18 bore.
Bearing upon their silver noble shield cartouches with grotesque masks at the shield base, are engraved noble crests of an Irish, ducal crowned lions passant, standing with one paw raised, over two heraldic bars.
A superb pair of silver grotesque mask butt caps, and all over silver fittings of florid designs including, pieced sideplates of stands of arms, including cannon, flags, cuirass armour, cannon balls and axes. Also very fine silver trigger guards with florid finials and fine engraving, and a pair of silver ramrod pipes containing their original horn tipped rammers.
Grotesque mask butt caps on antique flintlock pistols primarily feature human-like caricatures, mythological beasts, and stylized theatrical faces. These ornamental metal caps—commonly made of silver, brass, or German silver—were most popular on 17th- and 18th-century European and American firearms, especially Queen Anne and pocket pistols.
Exaggerated human features with wide-open mouths, prominent noses, and furrowed brows, often modeled after architectural gargoyles.
Designs inspired by Greco-Roman theatre masks, woodland spirits, or symbolic "death demons" meant to ward off evil
A pistol grotesque butt mask was one of the very few of its kind recovered from colonial excavation sites throughout Maryland, USA, is important not only for what it is, but for what it represents. While no other gun parts were recovered from Site 18CH354, the grotesque butt cap represents ideologies and traditions transferred from the old world to the new, and characterized how these ideas spread up through the Revolution (Gusler & Levin 1977).
These are truly a beautiful pair of finest status pistols from the mid 18th century, from the era of great turmoil across the Atlantic in the Americas, the Anglo Indian French War {aka the 7 years war in } and simply a joy to behold. The Metropolitan Museum in America have numerous similar wondrous examples in their collection, carried by the high ranking English and American officers {colonels and generals} in both the 1760’s war and the subsequent War of American Independence in the 1770’s to 80’s. The wars where George Washington first fought as British colonel against the French, then as General, the commander of the American forces, the Continental Army, against his former natural loyalties to the crown. The American Revolution, historically, was one of the most formative for world history until the 20th century world wars.
A war, that by defeating the British forces, by mostly former British colonists and crown subjects, along with elements of European emigres, and, the considerable assistance by the Britain’s greatest rivals at the time, France, creating, arguably, the most powerful nation of earth, in the much later 20th and 21st centuries. And, the other consequences, spawned the French Revolution, thus assisting Britain to expand the British Empire, and creating the worlds greatest power for the next 140 years until the 20th century, when America took its place, but only thanks to Germany, another of France’s great rivals.
The King of France expended so much gold from the French treasury, in loans and assistance to American revolutionaries, that it bankrupted the King, and naturally, France. Entirely, in many respects, due to the fact America, simply refused to pay back any financial contribution King Louis had made, and thus, creating the groundwork for his revolution, that cost him, and the nobility of France, their heads.
Ironically it was the French Kings ability to expend his vast resources against his government wishes, that lost him his realm, and it was the English kings inability to stop the war, as he was firmly against the British governments policy of the war, as he was a constructional monarch, thus head of state in name, but with no effective power to control policy or his governments wishes, that helped to create the most popular royal family in the world.
Another great irony, was, all the blame by America was heaped upon the British King George IIIrd, {the so-called, king of tyranny} to enable the circumstances of the war, but, he was one of the few men of ‘power’ in Britain that supported their situation, of course, behind the scenes so to speak, but, could do nothing about it. He was in reality, one of the kindest of men to have every ruled {in name only} a great nation, known by his beloved subjects as ‘Farmer George’, due to his passion of working hand in hand with his estate labourers, who he regarded as friends, digging ditches and tending animals.
Thus the French Kings action cost him his families throne, and lives, and the British Kings lack of action, went on the create the worlds greatest empire of the 19th and early 20th century. A lesson on the advantages of constitutional monarchies no doubt.
The previous few paragraphs, if you kindly forgive our wandering narrative, show, very briefly, and concisely of course, and naturally we had to leave out a few other minor historical events {around sixty ‘lesser’ wars, but whose counting} that just how intriguing and fundamental history truly is to all future events. The ultimate demonstration of ‘actions and consequences’ and what the studying of history can truly reveal to the curious mind. All current presidents and prime ministers, please take note!
See the most interesting and illuminating article of the pistol grotesque butt cap mask of the early 18th century
https://apps.jefpat.maryland.gov/curatorschoice/CCIssues/2010-11.aspx
Each pistol is 14 inches long overall with barrels of 8 1/4 inches overall condition is very good with usual commensurate age wear and small areas of dings and nicks to the walnut stocks around the locks. read more
5950.00 GBP










