A Beautiful Signed Aikuchi Tanto With Outstandingly Beautiful Nishiji Lacquer, With Silver Imperial Mon, Formerly of The Deryck Ingham Collection

From the Deryck Ingham collection, one of England's foremost Japanese sword collectors. His collection of 57 swords was donated to the Tower of London collection around 2001.

His Tower of London donated collection was then part of the display in the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds. The 400th anniversary of Japanese-British relations in 2013, the Japanese arms and armour in the Oriental Gallery were re-displayed and re-interpreted.

This included the addition of important mid-16th century Japanese armour which was a diplomatic gift to the King of Spain in the 1580’s, long before British contact with Japan. This armour XXVIA.2, which was acquired by the Tower Armouries in 1841, is scheduled to undergo conservation and relacing. Important stages in this process will be recorded for the public to show how research has enabled the armour to be correctly re-assembled. The new display also featured a fresh selection of Japanese blades and sword furniture from the generous gift made by the family of Deryck Ingham in his memory in 2001.



A tanto would most often be worn by Samurai, and it was very uncommon to come across a non samurai with a tanto. It was not only men who carried these daggers, women would on occasions carry a small tanto called a kaiken in their obi which would be used for self-defence. In feudal Japan a tanto would occasionally be worn by Samurai in place of the wakizashi in a combination called the daisho, which roughly translates as big-little, in reference to the big Samurai Sword (Katana) and the small dagger (tanto). Before the rise of the katana it was more common for a Samurai to carry a tachi and tanto combination as opposed to a katana and wakizashi

Superb blade in excellent Edo polish, signed by Kiyomitsu, Edo, Shinto period, probably from Bizen province. A full suite of carved black buffalo horn mounts, and a pair of silver chrysanthemum applied menuki

Tanto are generally forged in hira-zukuri style (without ridgeline), meaning that their sides have no ridge line and are nearly flat, unlike the shinogi-zukuri structure of a katana. Some tanto have particularly thick cross-sections for armour-piercing duty, and are called yoroi toshi. The tantos primary use was a type of stabbing weapon, however, the blade could also be used for slashing as well. Some tanto were forged with a particularly thick cross section which was thought to aid in piercing the armour of enemies, this type of dagger would be called a yoroi toshi.

Blade 6.5 inches overall 11.5 inches in saya. Kept for many years originally stored in plain and simple shira saya, but its original koshirae, with chrysanthemum, the Japanese imperial mon in silver, were traced, and blade and koshirae reunited once more.  read more

Code: 24554

An Absolutely Beautiful Edo Period Long Aikuchi Shinto Sunobi Tanto with the Clan Mon of The Asano Clan, Around 400 years Old

And another clan kamon somewhat based on the Kawari Kiri Kuzushi. Fully matching suite of copper gilt koshirae, including a pair of kozuka and kogai, all decorated throughout with the clan mon of the Kawari Kiri Kuzushi, and a kurigata is top mounted with the kamon of the crossed hawkfeathers, the taka no ha of the Asano clan, famed clan of the 47 Ronin.
It has a pair of menuki, in shakudo and pure gold of a wheeled hand cart and a cormorant. It has a simply stunning blade with original Edo polish in around 95% full polish condition.

The saya has a hammered paper thin pure gold flake layer underneath urushi lacquer, overdecorated with vermillion tinted clear urushi lacquer, then a fine black urushi lacquer on top sporadically stripe lined to simulate the overall appearance of cherry bark, with two narrow lines of early edo period lacquer restoration by the kozuka pocket.

The 'taka no ha' hawkfeather mon of Asano Naganori, who was the daimyo of the Ako Domain in Japan (1675 - 1701). His title was Takumi no Kami. He is known as the person who triggered a series of incidents retold in a story known as Chushingura, or the 47 Ronin, one of the favourite themes of kabuki, joruri, and Japanese books and films. Described by Japanese historians as a "National Legend", the revenge of the 47 Ronin took place in Japan and is the ultimate expression of the samurai code of honour, Bushido. Japanese lacquer, or urushi, is a transformative and highly prized material that has been refined for over 7000 years.

Cherished for its infinite versatility, urushi is a distinctive art form that has spread across all facets of Japanese culture from the tea ceremony to the saya scabbards of samurai swords

Japanese artists created their own style and perfected the art of decorated lacquerware during the 8th century. Japanese lacquer skills reached its peak as early as the twelfth century, at the end of the Heian period (794-1185). This skill was passed on from father to son and from master to apprentice.

Some provinces of Japan were famous for their contribution to this art: the province of Edo (later Tokyo), for example, produced the most beautiful lacquered pieces from the 17th to the 18th centuries. Lords and shoguns privately employed lacquerers to produce decorated samurai sword saya and also ceremonial and decorative objects for their homes and palaces.

O-Tanto or Sunobi Tanto
The Tanto that varied from the traditional size were called Sunobi-Tanto or O-Tanto. These were larger versions of the Tanto which featured blades usually measuring between 13 to 14 inches long. It was close to the size of the Ko-Wakizashi, which is a shorter version of the Wakizashi. However as this blade is even longer that the usual 14 inches, that is why it can be considered as a transitional weapon that has a foot in both camps so to speak. Because of its often small size, the Samurai warriors were able to conceal the Tanto in their clothing. It was also the Shoto or small sword in the Daisho and was paired with the Tachi. This was before the Samurai chose to use the Wakizashi over the Tanto as an auxiliary sword.
The Wakizashi was a Samurai warrior’s backup weapon that was used for close-quarter battles. Aside from this, the sword was a Samurai warrior’s tool for beheading a defeated opponent. It was sometimes used for committing Seppuku, a ritualistic suicide.

20.5 inches long overall, blade tsuba to tip, 15 inches long.

Original blue green silk ito that is very aged and we should rebind this ideally, the blade bears some staining at the tip end, this could be polished out.  read more

Code: 24316

A Wonderful, Ancient, Samurai Daimyo’s Tachi Sword, of The Li Clan, With Early So No Kurikara Horimono Carving To The Blade Signed Kuniyuki. Forged in The Kamakura period, 1192-1336 ad.

A stunning ancient tachi bearing a spectacular blade, engraved with the ancient sword of Buddha, somewhere in the region of 800 years old. All original Edo fittings, in iron inlaid with lines of gold, and the hilt kabuto gane pommel is a very unusual and elaborate all enclosing form covering a third of the tsuke. the saya has fine, delicate and rare, light ‘coromandel pink’ urushi lacquer to the saya with a pair of patinated copper ashi for the sageo hanging cord, and a strong contrasting black urushi lacquer to the carved ribbed tsuka. The colour was rewarded to them as the most famous warriors of all the samurai clans of Japan, the Li.
The combination of these original colours of urushi is breathtaking and shows typical Japanese sophistication, combined with sublime elegance. This is truly a prime example of an ancient samurai art sword, where all aspects of its external appearance having been as seriously considered as it’s sublime quality blade craftsmanship. Not the sword of a humble lowly samurai but a daimyo lord of significance, power and certainly style. Possibly even a Daimyo Lord of the Li, known as The Red Devils, of Li Naomasa, one of the most famous samurai warrior lords in Japanese history. Famed throughout Japan as the wearers of the red coromandel pink urushi lacquered armour and swords. A distinction granted to them as the most reliable and fearless of combat warriors. ‘Where the Li went, all others followed’

A photo in the gallery shows the same colour lacquer face armour of Li Naomasa, and woodblock print of a seated daimyo in full armour with his same colour tachi slung across his back. Possibly of a Li daimyo. We also had a full armour of a Li clan samurai, with all the same colour urushi lacquer armour, and also with a very similar menpo face armour.

Early So No Kurikara Horimono carving on the blade, fine original Edo blade polish and the master smith’s signature from around 800 years ago is nicely readable on the most ancient tang.

In Buddhist iconography the symbol of 'So no Kurikara' sword carving represents the defence of religious doctrine and the defeat of falsehood and evil. It is an emblem of intelligence and, by extension, of the victory of spiritual knowledge, which opens the path to enlightenment. Combined with a vajra hilt it signifies the sword of wisdom (e-ken), one of the major attributes of Fudō Myō-ō, also referred to as the Great Immovable One. Fudō was the most popular of the Five Great Kings of Light (Go Dai Myō-ō), deities of Hindu origin who were assimilated into the Japanese Buddhist pantheon in the ninth century.

In the Shingon school of Esoteric Buddhism, Fudō is a manifestation of the Supreme Buddha (Dainichi Nyorai), created to fight evil and champion righteous causes. He is also considered to be the first of the twelve buddhas who receive the souls of the dead and guide them to the eternal care of Dainichi Nyorai. It is possible, therefore, that this ken was made for use in a Shingon ritual devoted to Fudō. Images of Fudō frequently appear in the decoration of Japanese armour and weapons. He is usually shown surrounded by flames, holding the sword, point upward, in his right hand, and the rope (kensaku, with which he binds and nullifies evil, in his left hand.

Another ancient Kuniyuki signed tachi sword is one of the incredible Japanese National Treasures, the finest and rarest of swords kept in Japanese sacred museum collections. It is regarded by all as simply priceless, and, naturally, they will never to be offered on the open market ever again.

Our Kuniyuki sword was not made by that member of the world famed sword smith line, but it is a fabulous speculation to wonder which of the ancient Kuniyuki by whom it was forged, from that era or slightly later.

Another sword, regarded by some as the most valuable in the world, is a samurai sword, estimated to be worth, by its investment fund owners, at one hundred million dollars, therefore, imagine what the Japanese National Treasure. the famed other Kuniyuki tachi might be worth, possibly several times that, but naturaly, it will a question impossible to answer, as it will never be sold.

Tachi was mainly used by an armoured Samurai with one hand on horseback from the Heian period (794-1185 A.D.) until the early Muromachi period. The tachi was the earliest form of sword worn by the samurai, before the katana form was conceived. It is a long sword, suspended loosely on the left waist with its edge facing the ground so that you could draw it faster to cut down soldiers on the ground.

To own such a beautiful ancient sword from so many centuries past of samurai history, is not only an absolute joy, but too many, regarded as a sublime privilege.

It is in many regards an absolute miracle that such ancient and wonderful pieces survive to exist at all today, especially in such incredibly well preserved condition. It is only due to their style never fell out of useable fashion, combined with the Japanese culture based around the bushido of the samurai way of the warrior, where the older a sword was, the more revered and respected it became and thus cared for as the valued and regarded possession of each and every samurai or descendant owner, for anything up to 800 years.

Although an emperor reigned in Japan since ancient times, by the late 1100s powerful military leaders were challenging the power of the imperial court. From the thirteenth century on, Japan was ruled through a dual government structure. While the emperor retained cultural and religious sovereignty over the nation, the military elite during this period assumed political and economic leadership. This system of governance remained in place until the late 1800s.The First Warrior Government (The Kamakura Shogunate, 1185-1333)
By the late eleventh century, the Minamoto (also known as Genji) clan was recognised as the most powerful military clan in the northeastern region of Japan, having defeated several other powerful local groups. In the mid-twelfth century, the Minamoto clashed with the mighty Taira (also known as Heike) clan, which commanded an important western region including the area around Kyoto. A series of clashes, culminating in the Genpei War (1180-1185), ended with the defeat of the Taira.
The victorious Minamoto went on to establish a new, warrior-led government at Kamakura, their eastern stronghold. In 1185 the great Minamoto leader Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) was appointed sei-i-tai shogun ( Great Barbarian-Subduing General; abbreviated as shogun) by the emperor. Yoritomo established a military government, appointing warriors to fill important regional posts as constables or military governors and land stewards. Reporting to the shogun were daimyo provincial landowners who led bands of warrior vassals and administered the major domains
The coromandel pink to red lacquer gosuko was was the symbol of the Li clan, known as the Red Devil’s, of Li Naomasa. Amongst Tokugawa’s most trusted and talented generals was a warrior general called Ii Naomasa. Naomasa was a ferocious warrior, feared and respected equally by friend and foe alike. He was the living embodiment of the samurai ideal. Naomasa and his men would become infamous for wearing blood red armour in battle, earning themselves the nickname ‘The Red Devils,’ with a reputation just as terrifying. The Battle of Sekigahara would be Naomasa’s greatest triumph, as he charged ahead of the main Tokugawa advance to claim first blood against the enemy forces.

The beautiful and original Edo ‘coromandel pink’ colour urushi lacquer to the saya has a few small nicks, but considering it’s age it is in remarkable condition, and as it is such a rare colour, its preservation is an important consideration

Blade just under 28 inches long tsuba to tip, overall in saya 39 inches  read more

Code: 24540

Superb Original Bronze Medieval Longbow Archer’s Thumb Ring, Late 14th Century. the Battle Agincourt 1415. Recovered From Azincourt in the 1820's

From part of our fabulous original ancient artefact collection of ancient antiquities, swords and rings etc. Many from an 1820 Grand Tour classical collection from a Scottish Duke's family, recovered from battle sites around Europe and the Middle East.

This archers thumb ring was made circa 1400, over 600 years ago, and this is a superb, beautiful and historical original artefact.
A thumb ring is a piece of equipment designed to protect the archer’s thumb during archery. It is a ring of that can be made of leather, stone, horn, wood, bone, antler, ivory, metal, ceramics, which fits over the end of the thumb, coming to rest at the outer edge of the outer joint. Typically a flat area extends from the ring to protect the pad of the thumb from the bowstring; this may be supplemented by a leather extension. An absolute iconic original piece of British history. In battlefield recovered condition but very nice indeed. Beautiful Items such as this were oft acquired in the 18th and early 19th century by British noblemen and women touring battle sites in Northern France and Italy, in fact most of Europe and the Middle East, on their so-called ‘Grand Tour’. They were often placed on display upon their return home, within the family’s 'cabinet of curiosities', within their country house. Some significant British stately homes had entire galleries displaying the treasures and artefacts gathered and purchased on such tours, and some tours lasted many years, and the accumulated souvenirs numbered in their hundreds or even thousands. 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 the Middle East, acquiring knowledge and education on the arts, and thus returning with antiquities and antiques as souvenirs for their private collections, and these travels have been thus called ‘Grand Tours’.
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory in the Hundred Years' War. The battle took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) in the County of Saint-Pol, Artois, some 40 km south of Calais. Along with the battles of Crécy (1346) and Poitiers (1356), it was one of the most important English triumphs in the conflict. England's victory at Agincourt against a numerically superior French army crippled France, and started a new period in the war during which the English began enjoying great military successes.

After several decades of relative peace, the English had renewed their war effort in 1415 amid the failure of negotiations with the French. In the ensuing campaign, many soldiers perished due to disease and the English numbers dwindled, but as they tried to withdraw to English-held Calais they found their path blocked by a considerably larger French army. Despite the disadvantage, the following battle ended in an overwhelming tactical victory for the English.

King Henry V of England led his troops into battle and participated in hand-to-hand fighting. The French king of the time, Charles VI, did not command the French army himself, as he suffered from severe psychotic illnesses with moderate mental incapacitation. Instead, the French were commanded by Constable Charles d'Albret and various prominent French noblemen of the Armagnac party.

This battle is notable for the use of the English longbow in very large numbers, with the English and Welsh archers forming up to 80 percent of Henry's army. The decimation of the French cavalry at their hands is regarded as an indicator of the decline of cavalry and the beginning of the dominance of ranged weapons on the battlefield.

Agincourt is one of England's most celebrated victories. The battle is the centrepiece of the play Henry V by Shakespeare. Juliet Barker in her book Agincourt: The King, the Campaign, the Battle ( published in 2005) argues the English and Welsh were outnumbered "at least four to one and possibly as much as six to one". She suggests figures of about 6,000 for the English and 36,000 for the French, based on the Gesta Henrici's figures of 5,000 archers and 900 men-at-arms for the English, and Jean de Wavrin's statement "that the French were six times more numerous than the English". The 2009 Encyclopædia Britannica uses the figures of about 6,000 for the English and 20,000 to 30,000 for the French. Part of an original medieval collection we have just acquired, of Viking and early British relics of warfare from ancient battle sites recovered up to 220 years ago.
When drawing a bow using a thumb draw, the thumb is hooked around the bowstring just beneath the arrow and its grip reinforced with the first (sometimes second) finger. The bowstring rests against the inner pad of the archer's thumb and the thumb ring protects the skin. The bowstring rests against the flat of the ring when the bow is drawn. Today, thumb rings are used by archers practicing styles from most of Asia and some regions of northern Africa. Ishi, the "last wild American Indian", used a thumb draw, but no skin protection.
Thumb rings have been in use in Asia since the Neolithic period. The first examples were likely made of leather,.  read more

Code: 24638

A Superb Condition Relic From the Battle of Agincourt. A Fierce-Some Armour or Helmet Piercing Welsh Longbowman'sTanged Long Arrowhead. Recovered From Azincourt in the 1820's

Yet another small part of our wondrous, historical, and original Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek, Viking, Crusaders, and Medeavil battlefield antiquities and artefacts, another Grand Tour collection

Much of it acquired by a Scottish Duke's family in the 1820's while on a Grand Tour of Anglo French battle sites within Northern & Western France from Azincourt, in the Pas-de-Calais, to Poitiers in Aquitaine.

Most English and Welsh war arrows for longbows could vary, and some archers would have some type of armour piercing bodkin or “plate cutter” since their job was to penetrate armour (gambesons, hauberks, and plate). They had long and short bodkin, plate cutter, leaf, trefoil, crescent, and swallowtail broadheads. Broadheads were for targeting un-armoured men and knight's horses.

English & Welsh longbowman groups bore the brunt of the fighting in ‘overseas’ France, thus endowing them with a professional character. Their improved pay scale also reflected such a change, with the new figure being 6 pence a day – adding up to around 9 pounds per year. In a practical scope, the number actually came down to around 5 pounds per year; and for comparison’s sake, a medieval knight required around 40 pounds per year to support himself and his panoply.

The Battle of Poitiers was a major English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It was fought on 19 September 1356 in Nouaillé, near the city of Poitiers in Aquitaine, western France. Edward, the Black Prince, led an army of English, Welsh, Breton and Gascon troops, many of them veterans of the Battle of Crécy. They were attacked by a larger French force led by King John II of France, which included allied Scottish forces. The French were heavily defeated; an English counter-attack captured King John, along with his youngest son, and much of the French nobility who were present.

The effect of the defeat on France was catastrophic, leaving Dauphin Charles to rule the country. Charles faced populist revolts across the kingdom in the wake of the battle, which had destroyed the prestige of the French nobility. The Edwardian phase of the war ended four years later in 1360, on favourable terms for England.

Poitiers was the second major English victory of the Hundred Years' War, coming a decade after the Battle of Crécy and about half a century before the Battle of Agincourt.The English army was led by Edward, the Black Prince, and composed primarily of English and Welsh troops, though there was a large contingent of Gascon and Breton soldiers with the army. Edward's army consisted of approximately 2,000 longbowmen, 3,000 men-at-arms, and a force of 1,000 Gascon infantry.

Like the earlier engagement at Crécy, the power of the English army lay in the longbow, a tall, thick self-bow made of yew. Longbows had demonstrated their effectiveness against massed infantry and cavalry in several battles, such as Falkirk in 1298, Halidon Hill in 1333, and Crécy in 1346. Poitiers was the second of three major English victories of the Hundred Years' War attributed to the longbow, though its effectiveness against armoured French knights and men-at-arms has been disputedGeoffrey the Baker wrote that the English archers under the Earl of Salisbury "made their arrows prevail over the French knights' armour",but the bowmen on the other flank, under Warwick, were initially ineffective against the mounted French men-at-arms who enjoyed the double protection of steel plate armour and large leather shields. Once Warwick's archers redeployed to a position where they could hit the unarmoured sides and backs of the horses, however, they quickly routed the cavalry force opposing them. The archers were also unquestionably effective against common infantry, who could not afford plate armour.

The English army was an experienced force; many archers were veterans of the earlier Battle of Crécy, and two of the key commanders, Sir John Chandos, and Captal de Buch were both experienced soldiers. The English army's divisions were led by Edward, the Black Prince, the Earl of Warwick, the Earl of Salisbury, Sir John Chandos and Jean III de Grailly, the Captal de Buch.

After several decades of relative peace, the English had renewed their war effort in 1415 amid the failure of negotiations with the French. In the ensuing campaign, many soldiers perished due to disease and the English numbers dwindled, but as they tried to withdraw to English-held Calais they found their path blocked by a considerably larger French army. Despite the disadvantage, the following battle ended in an overwhelming tactical victory for the English.

King Henry V of England led his troops into battle and participated in hand-to-hand fighting. The French king of the time, Charles VI, did not command the French army himself, as he suffered from severe psychotic illnesses with moderate mental incapacitation. Instead, the French were commanded by Constable Charles d'Albret and various prominent French noblemen of the Armagnac party.

This battle is notable for the use of the English longbow in very large numbers, with the English and Welsh archers forming up to 80 percent of Henry's army. The decimation of the French cavalry at their hands is regarded as an indicator of the decline of cavalry and the beginning of the dominance of ranged weapons on the battlefield.

Agincourt is one of England's most celebrated victories. The battle is the centrepiece of the play Henry V by Shakespeare. Juliet Barker in her book Agincourt: The King, the Campaign, the Battle ( published in 2005) argues the English and Welsh were outnumbered "at least four to one and possibly as much as six to one". She suggests figures of about 6,000 for the English and 36,000 for the French, based on the Gesta Henrici's figures of 5,000 archers and 900 men-at-arms for the English, and Jean de Wavrin's statement "that the French were six times more numerous than the English". The 2009 Encyclopædia Britannica uses the figures of about 6,000 for the English and 20,000 to 30,000 for the French. Part of an original medieval collection we have just acquired, of Viking and early British relics of warfare from ancient battle sites recovered up to 220 years ago.

It has been suggested that the bodkin came into its own as a means of penetrating armour, but research by the Royal Armouries has found no hardened bodkin points, though only two bodkin points were actually tested, not a statistically relevant number. Bodkins did, however, have greater ability to pierce mail armour than broadheads, and historical accounts do speak of bodkin arrows shot from close range piercing plate armour. Broadheads were made from steel, sometimes with hardened edges, but were more often used against lightly armoured men or horses than against an armoured adversary.

In a modern test, a direct hit from a steel bodkin point penetrated mail armour, although at point blank range. However, the test was conducted without a padded jack or gambeson, which was layered cloth armour worn under heavier armour for protection against projectiles, as it was known to stop even heavy arrows.

Armour of the medieval era was not completely proof against arrows until the specialised armour of the Italian city-state mercenary companies. Archery was thought not to be effective against plate armour in the Battle of Neville's Cross (1346), the Battle of Bergerac (1345), and the Battle of Poitiers (1356); such armour became available to European knights and men at arms of fairly modest means by the late 14th century, though never to all soldiers in any army.

Some recent tests have demonstrated that needle bodkins could penetrate all but heavy steel plate armour; one test used padded "jack" armour, coat of plates, iron and steel mail and steel plate. A needle bodkin penetrated every type, but may not have been able to inflict a lethal injury behind plate. As with all other tests, accuracy of these tests is called into question as the arrowheads were all high carbon steel and hardened, and the historical accuracy of the armour tested is unknown.The name comes from the Old English word bodkin or bodekin, a type of sharp, pointed dagger. Arrows of the long bodkin type were used by the Vikings and continued to be used throughout the Middle Ages. The bodkin point eventually fell out of use during the 16th and 17th centuries, as armour largely ceased to be worn and firearms took over from archery. 105mm long overall including socket

As with all our items it comes complete with our certificate of authenticity.

Most of our antiquities and artefacts are from 200 year past souvenir accumulations from British ‘Grand Tours’. Beautiful Items and antiquities were oft acquired in the 18th and early 19th century by British noblemen and women touring battle sites in Northern France and Italy, in fact most of Europe and the Middle East, on their so-called ‘Grand Tour’. They were often placed on display upon their return home, within the family’s 'cabinet of curiosities', within their country house. Some significant British stately homes had entire galleries displaying the treasures and artefacts gathered and purchased on such tours, and some tours lasted many years, and the accumulated souvenirs numbered in their hundreds or even thousands. A popular pastime in the 18th and 19th century, comprised of English ladies and gentlemen traveling for many months, or even years, throughout classical Europe, and the Middle East, acquiring knowledge and education on the arts, and thus returning with antiquities and antiques as souvenirs for their private collections, and these travels have been thus called ‘Grand Tours’.

115mm long overall including tang

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

Code: 24894

A Most Rare Early, 14th Century, circa 1340, Medievil Iron Hand Cannon or 'Handgonne' Made in the Period, & Used From the Battle of Crecy and Poitier Era.

An absolutely beauty and an incredibly significant historical piece, effectively the handgonne, was the very first iron hand held powder and ball piece, that began the evolution into the pistol, almost 700 years ago, and around 500 years before Mr Colt developed his first revolver in the 1840's.

From a collection of original rare antiquities collection we acquired, and this is the third extraordinarily rare original handgonne from that collection. We normally find only one or two every ten years or so, or even longer, but to buy all three from the collection was amazing.

Not only an original artefact of the armoury of an armoured foot or mounted knight from the time of the wars with France, it makes an incredible decorative piece of curiosa, a conversation piece of extraordinary rarity and a fabulous embellishment for a desk or similar suitable location.


The earliest design of conical form. Small enough and light enough to be manoeuvred by hand and thus then loosely fixed, or semi-permanently fixed, in either an L shaped wooden block and used like a mortar, or, onto a length of sturdy wooden haft, from three feet to five foot long to be used almost musket like and bound with wrought iron bands see illustration in the photo gallery of these medievil variations of mounting. The precursor to the modern day pistol and musket from which this form of ancient so called handgonne developed into over the centuries. It is thought that gunpowder was invented in China and found its way to Europe in the 13th Century. In the mid to late 13th Century gunpowder began to be used in cannons and handguns, and by the mid 14th Century they were in relatively frequent use for castle sieges. By the end of the 14th Century both gunpowder, guns and cannon had greatly evolved and were an essential part of fortifications which were being modified to change arrow slits for gun loops. Hand cannon' date of origin ranges around 1350. Hand cannon were inexpensive to manufacture, but not accurate to fire. Nevertheless, they were employed for their shock value. In 1492 Columbus carried one on his discovery exploration to the Americas. Conquistadors Hernando Cortez and Francisco Pizzaro also used them, in 1519 and 1533, during their respective conquests and colonization of Mexico and Peru. Not primary arms of war, hand cannon were adequate tools of protection for fighting men.. Approx, 4 inches long 1 1/2 inch bore, and weighs around 5.1 lbs

See Funcken, L. & Funcken F., Le costume, l'armure et les armes au temps de la chevalerie, de huitieme au quinzieme siecle, Tournai,1977, pp.66-69, for reconstruction of how such hand cannons were used.
At the beginning of the 14th century, among the infantry troops of the Western Middle Ages, developed the use of manual cannons (such as the Italian schioppetti, spingarde, and the German Fusstbusse).

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

Code: 24887

SOLD A Signed Shingunto Katana by Kunihiro a Rikugun-Jumei-Tōshō Smith of WW2

Kunihiro (国広), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – „Kunihiro“ (国広), civilian name „Kataoka Itoshi“ (片岡愛), born on April 1st 1895, he worked as rikugun-jumei-tōshō and died December 2nd 1965. Kunihiro is given as Kataoka Kunihide in Fuller and Gregory. Soshu script signature

Once accepted as an Army Certified Swordsmith (Rikugun Jumei Tosho), the smith was given a regular allocation of tamehagane with which to make sword blades.

Traditional officer's fittings with company officer's portopee sword knot. with combat leather covered wooden saya. the signed blade shows a very good hamon and in now the hardened cosmolene metal preservative has been hand removed it seems to be in around 80% original polish with areas of light finger print staining. a super example of a good signed japanese WW2 katana for the collector

The blade was in stored condition covered in hardened coismolene. Our specialist workshop have spent three full days hand removing the preservative.

To become Rikugun Jumei Tosho, a swordsmith had to pass tests and examination of his blades. A complete list of Rikugun Jumei Tosho swordsmiths was published in Showa 17 entitled "Rikugun Jumei Tosho Meibo". There were also Navy commissioned swordsmiths (Kaigun Toko), but little information is currently available on them.

blade 26.5 inches long, overall 38.5 inches long

RUOB  read more

Code: 24878

A Very Interesting and Functional Original Souvenir from Admiral Jellicoe's Flagship, HMS Iron Duke, from the Battle of Jutland. The Greatest Sea Battle Since Trafalgar

A wooden miniature barrel made from parts of HMS Iron Duke, the admiral's flagship at Jutland. With a copper name plate thereon.

The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, during the First World War. The battle unfolded in extensive manoeuvring and three main engagements (the battlecruiser action, the fleet action, and the night action), from 31 May to 1 June 1916, off the North Sea coast of Denmark's Jutland Peninsula. It was the largest naval battle and the only full-scale clash of battleships of the war. Jutland was the third fleet action between steel battleships, following the Battle of the Yellow Sea in 1904 and the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, during the Russo-Japanese War. Jutland was the last major battle in history fought primarily by battleships.
Germany's High Seas Fleet intended to lure out, trap, and destroy a portion of the British Grand Fleet, as the German naval force was insufficient to openly engage the entire British fleet. This formed part of a larger strategy to break the British blockade of Germany and to allow German naval vessels access to the Atlantic. Meanwhile, Great Britain's Royal Navy pursued a strategy of engaging and destroying the High Seas Fleet, thereby keeping German naval forces contained and away from Britain and her shipping lanes

Fourteen British and eleven German ships sank, with a total of 9,823 casualties. After sunset, and throughout the night, Jellicoe manoeuvred to cut the Germans off from their base, hoping to continue the battle the next morning, but under the cover of darkness Scheer broke through the British light forces forming the rearguard of the Grand Fleet and returned to port.8

Both sides claimed victory. The British lost more ships and twice as many sailors but succeeded in containing the German fleet. The British press criticised the Grand Fleet's failure to force a decisive outcome, while Scheer's plan of destroying a substantial portion of the British fleet also failed. The British strategy of denying Germany access to both the United Kingdom and the Atlantic did succeed, which was the British long-term goal.

Iron Duke served as the flagship of the Grand Fleet during the First World War, including at the Battle of Jutland. There, she inflicted significant damage on the German battleship SMS König early in the main fleet action. In January 1917, she was relieved as fleet flagship. After the war, Iron Duke operated in the Mediterranean as the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet. She participated in both the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War in the Black Sea and the Greco-Turkish War. She also assisted in the evacuation of refugees from Smyrna. In 1926, she was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, where she served as a training ship.

Iron Duke remained on active duty for only a few more years; in 1930, the London Naval Treaty specified that the four Iron Duke-class battleships be scrapped or otherwise demilitarised. Iron Duke was therefore converted into a gunnery training ship; her armour and much of her armament was removed to render her unfit for combat. She served in this capacity until the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, when she was moored in Scapa Flow as a harbour defence ship. In October, she was badly damaged by German bombers and was run aground to avoid sinking. She continued to serve as an anti-aircraft platform for the duration of the war, and was eventually refloated and broken up for scrap in the late 1940s.
The Battle of Jutland, 1916
Date 31 May – 1 June 1916
North Sea, near Denmark
Belligerents
United Kingdom German Empire
Commanders and leaders
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland John Jellicoe
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland David Beatty
German Empire Reinhard Scheer
German Empire Franz Hipper
Strength
Total: 151 combat ships
28 dreadnought battleships
9 battlecruisers
8 armoured cruisers
26 light cruisers
78 destroyers
1 minelayer
1 seaplane carrier
Total: 99 combat ships
16 dreadnought battleships
5 battlecruisers
6 pre-dreadnought battleships
11 light cruisers
61 torpedo-boatsa
Casualties and losses
6,094 killed
674 wounded
177 captured
3 battlecruisers sunk
3 armoured cruisers sunk
8 destroyers sunk
(113,300 tons sunk)
2,551 killed
507 wounded
1 battlecruiser sunk
1 pre-dreadnought battleship sunk
4 light cruisers sunk
5 torpedo-boats sunk
(62,300 tons sunk)  read more

Code: 24877

An Early 19th Century Infantryman Volunteer's 'Brown Bess' Musket, In Super Condition

With excellent walnut rail stock, very good and tight crisp action, regulation brass mounts and ramrod, with twin steel sling swivels, all original and all present. Likely EIC, with good barrel with bayonet lug and rear sight. Ring neck cock flintlock, maker marked.

The Brown Bess musket was the standard weapon of the British infantry for more than a century. Soldiers on both sides of the War of 1812 employed it in battle, staring down its barrel at opponents across distances of less than a hundred yards.

Flintlock musket
The Brown Bess musket was the standard weapon of the British for more than a century.
British foot soldiers marched into battle with this musket—nicknamed “Brown Bess”—for more than 100 years. British redcoats used the Brown Bess to fight the War of Independence in the colonies, and many of their opponents in the Americans’ Continental army used it as well. British soldiers fighting in the Napoleonic wars carried it into battle, and it was the principal firearm used by the infantrymen who fought the War of 1812.

The Brown Bess had several distinctive features. It was a large-calibre weapon: the bullet it fired was a lead ball from .65 to up to three-quarters of an inch in diameter, three times the diameter of a modern .22-calibre rifle round. The inside of its barrel was smooth: unlike more accurate “rifled” muskets used by the famous rifle regiments, the Brown Bess had a smooth bore with no grooves to make its fire more accurate. Soldiers loaded the musket through the muzzle, which meant that each bullet had to be forced down a longer than three foot barrel before firing. Even trained soldiers could only launch two or three shots per minute.

Because the weapon was slow to load and relatively inaccurate (experienced soldiers generally estimated its range between 50 and 100 yards), armies developed tactics that helped compensate for its shortcomings. The limitations of smoothbore muskets like the Brown Bess forced units employ “linear tactics,” in which a hundreds of soldiers stood in neat lines, shoulder-to-shoulder and out in the open. While such tactics appear decidedly unstealthy to twenty-first century eyes, they proved essential on the battlefields of all the conflicts which Britain was involved.
There, stealth was a low priority. Packing the men into blocs allowed officers to coordinate their troops’ fire into synchronized volleys. Firing a hundred guns in the same direction at once helped ensure that at least some, often most of the inaccurate musket balls found their targets. And grouping the men into neat lines out in the open helped commanders ensure that few of their troops gave in to the natural instinct to flee.

Of course, packing troops into blocks and fighting in the open required tremendous discipline from the individual soldiers. Infantrymen had to stand exposed to enemy fire as they loaded and fired their own muskets. And in some situations, soldiers learned the grisly dangers of fighting in lines—as at the Battle of New Orleans in the 1812 war, where American artillery attacked the exposed British formations with devastating effect. Small contemporary wooden field repair at the base of the buttplate

40" barrel .65 calibre  read more

Code: 24875

A Most Rare 18th Century 'Cohorn' Exploding Grenade. From an Early Cohorn, Grenade Launcher Hand Mortar Gun

We show the cohorn's exploding grenade or mortar bomb, alongside the type of mortar launcher from the early 18th century that would have fired it. It is a very rare cohorn launcher gun we sold a few years ago.

The grenade is hollow cast iron, around 2.55 inches across, and would originally be filled with gunpowder, sealed with a wooden plug and fuse. The grenade would be lit before firing, dropped into the barrel of the launcher and then fired/launched against the grenadier's enemy. It was an extremely dangerous form of weapon as the lit grenade could easily ignite the gun powder in the cohorn launcher 's barrel and blow all asunder instantly.

The hand mortar is a firearm that was used in the late 17th century and 18th century to throw fused grenades. The action was similar to a flintlock, matchlock, or wheellock firearm (depending on the date of production), but the barrel was short, usually less than 2 inches (5 cm) to 4 inches (10 cm) long (though some are reported to have barrels up to 13 inches (33 cm) long), and had a large bore to accommodate the grenade; usually between 2 and 2.5 inches (5 to 6 cm).

Between 1672 and 1740, the Royal Foundry of Berlin (Königliches Gießhaus zu Berlin) produced 302 hand mortars (Handmörser). Additionally, a mortar at the Museum of Artillery in Woolwich, Great Britain bears the inscription Fondeur á Strasbourg (made in Strasbourg (France)) and several other surviving pieces bear the coat of arms of Württemberg indicating that they might have been made there. The first references to the type of grenade used in a hand mortar occur in a 1472 work entitled Valturius, where an incendiary prototype may have been produced. However, widespread use of the explosive grenade does not occur until the early-to-mid-16th century under Francis I of France. An early casualty of this type of grenade was Count de Randan who died of shrapnel wounds to the legs from a grenade during the Siege of Rouen (probably the battle of Issoire) in 1562. Explosive grenades were made from brass, glass, and possibly clay, and incendiary projectiles were made from canvas, however, Nathanael Nye, Master Gunner of the City of Worcester in a work entitled Art of Gunnery published in 1647, remarks that the soldiers of his day were not fond of handling the grenades because they were too dangerous. While there are substantial records of infantry units called grenadiers throughout the 18th century in Europe, these units generally threw the larger sized grenades by hand, but maybe a few men of the regiment could be armed with launchers firing small grenades such as this. After priming the firearm and adding the gunpowder, the shooter would light a grenade fuse, place the grenade in the muzzle of the mortar, then fire it at the enemy. However, accidents could occur if the weapon misfired and the lit grenade remained in the barrel. Additional modifications attempted to light the grenade using the burning gunpowder, but accounts say that the fuse would be forced into the grenade which would explode immediately.

The low number of surviving specimens of this firearm indicate that it was not a popular weapon, possibly due to the safety issues. In his essay on the weapon, Hewitt opines that the mortar is among a variety of "projects for destruction which have never destroyed anything but the fortunes of their inventors". At least one version of the hand mortar was probably invented by John Tinker in 1681. However, his mortar may have been an improvement on an earlier piece. A reference to this mortar may have appeared in a work entitled Ancient Armour which refers to a tinker's mortar. Another account refers to a hand mortar as a cohorn, and attributes its invention to a Dutch engineer, Menno Van Coehoorn, who lived from 1641 to 1704. Hand Mortars were also to be found in the New World. References to a hand mortar being transferred in Maryland are found in the record of The Proceedings of the Council of Maryland in 1698. Another account in the journal of Alexander Henry the younger tells of a hand mortar (called a cohorn; after Menno van Coehoorn) being loaded with a pound of powder, 30 balls, and fired in an action against Sioux indians in 1808.

Another reference to the use of cohorns in the New World can be found in The Life of Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) including the Border Wars of the American Revolution by William L. Stone (two volumes) published Albany NY 1865. Stone in describing Sir William Johnson's Niagara campaign of 1759 notes the following: "The youthful warrior likewise accompanied Sir William during the Niagara Campaign of 1759, and in the brilliant achievements of the Baronet, after the chief command had devolved upon him upon the death of General Prideaux, is said to have acquitted himself with distinguished bravery. General Prideaux, commanding the expedition, was killed by the accidental explosion of a cohorn on the 20th of July…" (Stone, Vol 1, p. 20)

It has spent over two days in the workshop being cleaned and conserved. Weight 1.6 lbs  read more

Code: 24872