Antique Arms & Militaria

A Superb Roman 1900 Year Old 'Status' Seal Ring, Intaglio, Stylized Engraved, with a Mythological Scene of The Pheonix In Flight

A superb Henig type Xb ring. Wide oval bezel affixed to flattened shoulders engraved copper bronze alloy with gilt highlights. Almost identical shape and form to one found in the UK near Hadrian's Wall. and another similar ring, with the very same style of workmanship and engraving from the era, was discovered 50 years ago, and believed to be once the ring of the infamous Pontius Pilate, the Governor of Judea for Rome

The Greek myth of the Pheonix in a nest of flames was set down in Ancient Rome by the great poet Ovid,

In Ovid's, Metamorphoses 15. 385 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"These creatures other races of birds all derive their first beginnings from others of their kind. But one alone, a bird, renews and re-begets itself--the Phoenix of Assyria, which feeds not upon seeds or verdure but the oils of balsam and the tears of frankincense. This bird, when five long centuries of life have passed, with claws and beak unsullied, builds a nest high on a lofty swaying palm; and lines the nest with cassia and spikenard and golden myrrh and shreds of cinnamon, and settled there at ease and, so embowered in spicy perfumes, ends his life's long span. Then from his father's body is reborn a little Phoenix, so they say, to live the same long years. When time has built his strength with power to raise the weight, he lifts the nest--the nest his cradle and his father's tomb--as love and duty prompt, from that tall palm and carries it across the sky to reach the Sun's great city i.e. Heliopolis in Egypt, and before the doors of the Sun's holy temple lays it down."

Publius Ovidius Naso, 21 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. The Imperial scholar Quintilian considered him the last of the Latin love elegists. Although Ovid enjoyed enormous popularity during his lifetime, the emperor Augustus exiled him to Tomis, the capital of the newly-organised province of Moesia, on the Black Sea, where he remained for the last nine or ten years of his life. Ovid himself attributed his banishment to a "poem and a mistake", but his reluctance to disclose specifics has resulted in much speculation among scholars.

Today, Ovid is most famous for the Metamorphoses, a continuous mythological narrative in fifteen books written in dactylic hexameters.

A ring discovered 50 years ago is now believed to possibly be the ring of Pontius Pilate himself, and it was the same copper-bronze form ring as is this one. See its image in the gallery, with a detailed drawing of the traditional stylized engraving, in order to show the intaglio more clearly.

Being around 2000 years old, it has a heavily encrusted, natural, well aged patina

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

Code: 25077

Stunningly Beautiful, Museum Piece. Original Scythian Warrior's Helmet. Made & Used From the 6th Century BC, to The Battles Against Alexander the Great, Until the 3rd Century AD, The Scythian Women Warriors Are Believed To Be The Original Amazons

A bronze 'Illyrian' variant helmet, used by the so called 'barbarian' warriors, both men and women, that Herodotus classed as Amazons, that fought Darius The Great of Persia in 512bc, Alexander the Great of Macedon in 329bc, and both the Legions of the Roman Republic, and later, the Legions of the Roman Empire.

With a traditional domed skull and carination to the rear, a row of perforations to the rim around the face, and a flared neck-guard; Weight 396 grams, 26cm (10 1/4"). Fine condition, some overall aged restoration.

From the realm of the ancient Scythian warriors of ancient history that uniquely fought alongside their female warriors. The Scythian women were as famous as warriors, in fact as much as we’re the Scythian men, it is said the legend of the Amazonian warriors is entirely based on the Scythian women warriors. Herodotus provides the first detailed description of the Scythians. He classes the Cimmerians as a distinct autochthonous tribe, expelled by the Scythians from the northern Black Sea coast. Herodotus also states that the Scythians consisted of the Auchatae, Catiaroi, Traspians, and Paralatae or "Royal Scythians".

For Herodotus, the Scythians were outlandish barbarians living north of the Black Sea. In 512 BC, when King Darius the Great of Persia attacked the Scythians, he allegedly penetrated into their land after crossing the Danube. Herodotus relates that the nomadic Scythians frustrated the Persian army by letting it march through the entire country without an engagement In 329 BC Philip's son, Alexander the Great, came into conflict with the Scythians at the Battle of Jaxartes. A Scythian army sought to take revenge against the Macedonians for the death of Ateas, as they pushed the borders of their empire north and east, and to take advantage of a revolt by the local Sogdian satrap. However, the Scythian army was defeated by Alexander at the Battle of Jaxartes. Alexander did not intend to subdue the nomads: he wanted to go to the south, where a far more serious crisis demanded his attention. He could do so now without loss of face; and in order to make the outcome acceptable to the Saccae, he released the Scythian prisoners of war without ransom in order to broker a peace agreement. This policy was successful, and the Scythians no longer harassed Alexander's empire.

Although the classical Scythians may have largely disappeared by the 1st century BC, Eastern Romans continued to speak conventionally of "Scythians" to designate Germanic tribes and confederations or mounted Eurasian nomadic barbarians in general: in AD 448 two mounted "Scythians" led the emissary Priscus to Attila's encampment in Pannonia. The Byzantines in this case carefully distinguished the Scythians from the Goths and Huns who also followed Attila. Their women, after all, were trouser-wearing, horse-riding warriors, Amazons, according to Herodotus. In his Histories, the Amazons sleep with the Scythian men but refuse to cohabit with the existing Scythian women because they are not outdoorsy enough. The Amazons therefore set off with their Scythians to establish a new people.

The next known event from Scythian history is the campaign of Alexander the Great's general, Zopyrion, which took place in 331/30 BC and was directed against the Getae and the Scythians (Just., Epit., 12.1, 4). The Macedonian army of 30,000 men reached Olbia and laid siege to it, but was unable to take it and was completely routed by the Scythians. Zopyrion himself met his death.

One other Scythian king of the 4th century BC mentioned in the sources was Agaros, who had probably taken part in the internecine war between the sons of the Bosporan king Pairisades in 310/9 on the side of Satyros II; after his defeat, Satyros's son Pairisades sought refuge with Agaros. He was probably king of those Scythians who dwelt in the Crimean steppes immediately adjacent to the Bosporus.The helmet appears to have been made originally on the Corinthian model with close-fitting skull, lateral cheek-plates and projecting nasal. At some point in its combat history, it has been modified, while retaining the undulating brow profile. The perforated leading edge may have been for permanent attachment of an organic padded liner. Beyond the scope of inspired workmanship, by 5th century BC, many of the Scythian kings and nobles also opted for 'foreign' styled Greek helmets and greaves, possibly as a show of prosperity. Archaeological excavations that pertain to this period have unearthed over 60 fascinating specimens of Greek helmets (of Corinthian, Chalcidian, and Attic types) that were actually manufactured in mainland Greece and then shipped across the Black Sea into Scythian heartland via the wealthy Greek Bosporan colonies. The ancient scope in itself mirrored a wide-ranging trade network that not only entailed arms and military equipment but also slaves. Furthermore, the Scythians themselves exported profitable items like grain, wheat, flocks, and even cheese to Greece. From examination the front nasal section has been considerably restored. It has been sometime in the past extensively, though nicely, fully cleaned overall, during conservation a small supporting interior patch has been applied at the nasal area. Helmets from this era and region in unrestored condition are now so rare as to be almost unavailable, but if found, can be expected to be from 20,000 to 50,000 pounds today.
Every single item from The Lanes Armoury is accompanied by our unique Certificate of Authenticity. Part of our continued dedication to maintain the standards forged by us over the past 100 years of our family’s trading


Literature on this helmet type see;
Cf. Egg, M. & Waurick, G. Antike Helme, Romisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Mainz, 1990, item 2 for original type.  read more

Code: 22060

An Exceptional and Scarce Antique Maasai Warriors War Club, A Rungu,19th Century, Made Of Incredibly Dense Hardwood

An absolute beauty, and stunning quality craftsmanship. Rarely seen example of an original antique close combat weapon of the renown, most fearless Maasai ‘Lion Hunter’ warriors, of Kenya.
This is not a commonly found modern tourist piece, but a rare, original, antique warrior’s rungu, of stunning beauty and quality.

In Maasai culture, the rungu is a highly important emblem of warrior status for young males. A special one is held by the designated speaker at important tribal gatherings. It is especially associated with Maasai morans (male warriors) who have traditionally used it in warfare and for hunting, it was used by the warrior for close combat or as a lethal and highly effective throwing club.  read more

Code: 20989

We Have New Fascinating Items Added To The Site Every Single Day.

Wonderful and intriguing pieces, such as a Renaissance period helmet and fusetto stiletto dagger, as used by a chief Cannoneer of the Papal Army in the 16th century, up to 500 years ago, commanded by Cesare Borgia, son of the Borgia Pope, and later in the 16th century, By Matteo Barbarini, brother to Pope Urban VIIIth.

Also, many military souvenirs of all kinds from WW1 and WW2, to, say, a Spanish Conquistador's helmet of the 16th century, to Ian Fleming’s James Bond, 1960's Ist Edition books, a Baker Rifle sword-bayonet, to original samurai swords hundreds of years old.

All are original, beautiful, historical and truly intriguing pieces.

This week we will be adding some superb and inexpensive Roman and Greek antiquities, plus medieval antiquities too. We are also sending our deliveries to our clients in the UK, Australia, America, & Canada, every working day, containing the rarest and finest pieces, from books, to helmets, swords and antiquities.  read more

Code: 21779

A, Good, Rare, Heavy Plate, Original Italian Vatican Infantry Army Helmet of Pope Urban VIIIth’s Armoury, a Cabasset Helmet 1500’s. As Used By The Cannoneers of the Papal Artillery. Originally Sourced From The Papal Armoury, in The Vatican

It’s companion Cabasset helmets are now in the Vatican Historical Museum in the Lateran Palace, Rome
The defensive helmet as used by the cannoneers of Pope Urban’s Papal Army artillery, and just as would be used by the chief cannoneer in battle, in the army commanded by Mateo Barbarini, Pope Urban’s brother. A helmet worn, while also armed with the chief Cannoneers fusetto

Used in artillery combat in Papal armies, such as were once commanded by the infamous Cesare Borgia, who was an Italian cardinal and condottiero, an illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI and member of the Spanish-Aragonese House of Borgia.
His fight for power was a major inspiration for ‘The Prince’ by Niccolò Machiavelli. The Prince, one of Machiavelli's greatest works, as Machiavelli admired Borgia's undimmed ruthlessness, but mainly, because Borgia, for Machiavelli, exhibited a unity and coherence of purpose and intents that was good for the polity. {see Casare’s portrait in the gallery}


This is a Papal Army helmet from the collection of armour in the armoury of the Papal Army in Rome.
Good Heavy Italian Infantry Helmet Cabasset , hammered steel raised from a single plate, medial ridge with pear stalk finial stepped flared brim with turned over edge and in very good condition.

Provenance: From the Papal Armoury; and later acquired by London dealers Fenton & Sons Ltd. Fenton and Sons, Antique Arms and Armour, around 100 years ago. They traded in London from 1894-1927. and supplied, amongst others, the British Museum. An interesting point aside, we used to supply Fentons back in the 1920's ourselves. This and a few others were acquired by Fentons in 1919 and were listed in their catalogue. They were all from the Papal Armoury in Rome made for the Barberini family.

The Barberinis supplied the armour and cabassets for the papal army in the 16th century, a period fraught with anarchy and bandits and direct attacks on papal territories by Parma. The close association led to Maffeo Barberini becoming Pope Urban VIII. His brother Taddeo was made Supreme Commander of the Papal Army. The helmets, including this one, were from the papal armoury and served through the papal wars. It is estimated that about 4500 men served the papal army and most would have worn cabassets, making the original number of the group well over 4000. Others from the group are now in the Musio Storico Vaticano the Old Papal armoury now in the Vatican Historical Museum in the Lateran Palace, Rome.
The Papal Army was the loosely-construed army of volunteers and mercenaries in the service of the Italian Papal States, active from the 8th century until the capture of Rome by Italy in 1870. The Papal States maintained a sizeable military during the Middle Ages, using it to fight against the Holy Roman Empire and its Ghibelline allies. During the 1300s, the Papal States began to employ the services of condottieri, mercenaries who sold their services to the extremely wealthy Catholic Church. These forces would be instrumental to the defence of the Pope during the Italian Wars of the 15th and 16th centuries, with Cesare Borgia leading the Papal Army on a campaign of conquest that added several new city-states and regions to the Papal States' territories. Painting in the gallery of the Massacre of San Bartolome in the Catholic-Protestant Religious Wars, where the French crown aided by Queen Catherine de Medici, mother of the French King, with the Pope's blessing, fought ten of thousands of Huguenots what is considered the second deadliest religious war in European history (surpassed only by the Thirty Years' War, which took eight million European lives) The pope was so delighted with the battle he ordered a Te Deum to be sung as a special thanksgiving (a practice continued for many years after) and had a medal struck with the motto Ugonottorum strages,  read more

Code: 23616

A Wonderful 16th Century Renaissance Era Italian 'Fusetto' Gunner's Dagger Used on Land By Venetian Artillery Chief Cannoneers, or At Sea by The Venetian and Papal States Navy Cannoneers

A supremely effective stiletto from the Italian Renaissance, for defending the guns and cannoneers during close combat, and measuring the bore of cannon to ensure the right size cannon ball was used, measuring powder charges, and lastly, for ‘spiking the guns’ during the imminent threat of capture.

Used in artillery combat in Papal armies such as were commanded by Cesare Borgia, who was an Italian cardinal and condottiero, an illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI and member of the Spanish-Aragonese House of Borgia. His fight for power was a major inspiration for The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli see his portrait in the gallery. The Prince, one of Machiavelli's greatest works, as Machiavelli admired Borgia's undimmed ruthlessness, but mainly, because Borgia, for Machiavelli, exhibited a unity and coherence of purpose and intents that was good for the polity. {see Casare’s portrait in the gallery}

Used during the same time as the great and legendary masters, Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo were creating their masterpieces for the great families of Renaissance Italy, such as the Borgias or for Pope Sixtus IVth’s Vatican Palace Sistine Chapel.

While the greatest artists the world has ever seen, we’re creating their glorious works in Rome, Florence or Venice, the cannoneers were mastering their guns in the great battles against enemy Italian States, or foreign invaders, such as the Ottoman army and navy of the Grand Turk.

A superb and most rare museum piece, only normally to be seen today in the world great armoury collections, such as in the Doge’s Palace Armoury in Venice, or the Royal Armoury of Turin,

This stunning beauty of this piece is the elegance and simplicity of its form, and, it is in fantastic condition for its age, which is around, an amazing, 500 years. A wonderful example of an original ‘fusetto’, the chief gunner's dagger, carried by an Italian chief cannoneer during the Renaissance period.

The exact type as used at the Battle of Pavia, by the artillery, and the Battle of Lepanto by the Papal States and the Venetian Navy. The blade is of rare rounded section, as, more commonly, they were square section. For the specific use of the Chief Cannoner of artillery, for several important purposes, including, the clearing the vent touch hole from burnt powder build up, and, as it has an engraved blade with a number scale cuts, in order to measure across the bore of a cannon at the muzzle, in order to gauge the calibre of the cannon, thus to ensure the right size ball was used, and also, for the correct measure of powder, plus, if all hope of defence of the gun is lost, for 'spiking' a cannon's vent touchhole if the cannon are overrun by the enemy. Finally, and often just as importantly, for use in close combat by the chief cannoneer, for, if the guns are over run the chief gunner or cannoneer needs a vitally important weapon for personal defence.

The side notches in the blade were cut showing graduation of muzzle widths and called the Scala di Cattaneo. The rare round form blade, being long and graduated, in addition to enhancing the elegance of the blade, has a function of mechanical compliance, for, as mentioned before, if during a battle the cannon were about to be taken by the enemy, the bombers and of course the other troops beat the retreat. At this point the 'fuse' the bottom tip of the 'fusetto' blade was used to render the cannon ineffective, the blade's tip was stuck with force into a cannon’s vent (the small upper touch hole opening, into which the touch powder flowed into to the breech ) and then with a violent blow the ‘fuse’ or tip of the blade was snapped off into the hole. This rendered the cannon unusable, at least for the time of retreat. Italian early artillery, particularly field artillery, became an indispensable part of any first-rate army during the Italian Wars.

The naval Battle of Lepanto, is shown in the gallery, painted by unknown artist, in the late 16th century. Another painting In the gallery is of the siege of Constantinople painted by The great master Tintoretto.
A new chapter for Venice and the Venetian navy opened in 1453, with the Fall of Constantinople and the beginning in earnest of the Ottoman–Venetian wars, a centuries long confrontation with the Ottoman Empire.

Faced with a constant threat to its maritime possessions, Venice had little choice but to maintain a standing fleet of dozens of galleys on a war footing in peacetime, bolstered in times of actual war by over a hundred galleys held in reserve. To oversee the efficient supply and administration of such a force required an extensive organisational effort, leading to the creation of the office of the Magistrato alla milizia da mar "commissioner of naval forces" responsible for the construction and maintenance of ships and cannon, provision of hardtack and other ship's stores, weapons and gunpowder, recruitment of crews and the management of finances.

With the maturation of firearms technology, the previous Greek fire projectors were replaced with cannon positioned in the bow as chasers. This era saw the development of further ship types. During his invasion of Italy, Charles VIII employed the first truly mobile siege train: culverins and bombards mounted on wheeled carriages, which could be deployed against an enemy stronghold immediately after arrival. The French siege arsenal brought with it multiple technological innovations. Charles' army pulled cannons with horses rather than the oxen typically used at the time. Additionally, French cannons, created methods used to cast bronze church bells, and achieved a lightness and mobility previously unheard of. Perhaps the most important improvement the French made to cannons, however, was the creation of the iron cannonball. Before the Italian Wars, artillery fired stone balls that often shattered on impact. The invention of the water mill allowed furnaces to generate enough heat to melt iron to be smelted into cannonballs. With this technology, Charles’ army could level, in a matter of hours, Italian castles that had formerly resisted sieges for months and years.

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

Overall 14 3/4 inches long, blade length 10 inches  read more

Code: 22445

Two Early Post Medieval 1/2 Penny and Penny Trade or Barter Tokens, Anchor and Petals Design, 17th to 18th Century

Lead tokens had a wide variety of uses and were made locally, they are therefore hard to date precisely. They could be used as steelyard weights, gaming counters or sometimes even used as unofficial money as in the English Civil War. Then most local parish money was commandeered by the Royalists in Worcester, and lead for musket balls. They are generally considered to be crude agricultural tokens though this may be too simplistic and a number of them could easily have been tavern pieces or barter money, (an early form of truck money). Nearby on the road from Worcester to Great Witley there was a licensed house at Rock Cottage, run by John Ockey in the late 1700s. It would be common practice for local small holders to exchange these tokens for produce at the Public House and for Ockey to sell it on to passersby.

c.1630 to 1800. Lead Tokens date back to Roman times when they were called tesserae. Later Anglo-Saxons also made Lead Tokens. In medieval times they were called “Pilgrim’s Pieces”. Some were very elaborate and were handed out by monks at monasteries to pilgrims as a memento. During the English Civil War copper coinage was scarce so local people turned to making their own unofficial money. They were usually made of Lead and small to about 20 mm in diameter and about 2-3 mm thick so that soldiers would not seize them to melt down to make musket balls. The monetary value for the small kind, around 16mm, was equivalent to a farthing or 1/960th of a pound. The larger tokens, as these are, was double that to a halfpenny, and double again, to a penny

After 1663 penny tokens start to appear. These often bear their value but range widely in size from 14 to 25 mm in diameter. This denomination was prolifically issued in London for use within the new Coffee Houses. There are only a very few rare issues of two penny tokens produced and these were limited to issuers living in London and Southwark. While the majority of tokens are circular in shape after 1668 a few issues were also struck on octagonal, heart-shaped and square/diamond-shaped flans. Considering the circular shaped tokens, which comprises the bulk of the series, their denominations can be closely correlated to their size but not their weight due to a wide variation in their flan thickness.
Halfpenny 20mm, Penny 26mm. Very rare types have been known to fetch over £1,000 today  read more

Code: 24266

A Superb, Original, Late Queen Elizabeth Ist to King James Ist Period Miniature Pistol. Late 1500's, To The Turn of The 17th Century, Functioning Miniature Pistol

A tiny pistol, made in bronze, many hundreds of years ago, to fire off, likely for the entertainment of the nobility and their children. Dark blue-black bronze age patination

An extraordinary little piece of rarely known history, from the earliest age of the black powder pistol. These intriguing miniature functioning pistols were called petronel, named after the original early name of matchlock and wheellock pistols, and very much of the period, from the Elizabethan to the Carolean age.

A petronel is a 16th and 17th century black powder muzzle-loading firearm, defined by Robert Barret (Theorike and Practike of Modern Warres, 1598) as a horsemans peece. It was the muzzle-loading firearm which developed on the one hand into the pistol and on the other into the carbine. The name (French petrinel or poitrinal) was given to the weapon either because it was fired with the butt resting against the chest (French poitrine, Latin pectus) or it was carried slung from a belt across the chest. Petronels are found with either matchlock or wheellock mechanisms.

The sclopus was the prototype of the petronel. The petronel is a compromise between the harquebus and the pistol. Early petronels date back to the end of the 14th century, with a crude buttstock. Generally the touch hole is on the right side, and fired by a separate slow match. Sometimes they had small hinged plate covers to protect the priming from moisture. By extension, the term petronel was also used to describe the type of light cavalry who employed the firearm. The petronel (cavalryman) was used to support the heavy cavalry such as demi-lancers and cuirassiers. The petronel was succeeded by a similarly armed cavalryman called the harquebusier.

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

Code: 25074

An 1801 Pattern Baker Rifle Sword {Bayonet}. Brass D Hilt & Single Edged Long Sword Blade

Traditional ribbed grip hilt, flattened section knucklebow, slightly bent quillon with long retaining spring, released by press catch. 23 inch steel flat sided single edged blade with return false edge. No maker markings remaining.

The sword that affixes to the end of a rifle as a bayonet. However, as all British Army riflemen know, the rifleman carries a sword, not a bayonet, despite it looking and acting as one. The rifle was used throughout the entire Peninsular Wars, the War of 1812 in America and Waterloo, by the world's greatest marksmen to fight for King and Country. This is not the denigrate our cousins, the American Riflemen of course, but they were not fighting for King and Country.

The British army had learned the value of rifles from their experience in the American rebellion in the 1770's. However, existing rifle designs were considered to be to cumbersome, slow-firing, fragile or expensive to be put to use on any scale beyond irregular companies. Rifles had been issued on a limited basis and consisted of parts made to no precise pattern, often brought in from Prussia. The war against Revolutionary France resulted in the employment of new tactics, and the British Army responded, albeit with some delay. Prior to the formation of an Experimental Rifle Corps in 1800, a trial was held at Woolwich by the British Board of Ordnance on 22 February 1800 in order to select a standard rifle pattern; the rifle designed by Ezekiel Baker was chosen.

Colonel Coote Manningham, responsible for establishing the Rifle Corps, influenced the initial designs of the Baker. The first model resembled the British Infantry Musket, but was rejected for being too heavy. Baker was provided with a German Jager rifle as an example of what was needed. The second model he made had a .75 calibre bore, the same calibre as the Infantry Musket. It had a 32-inch barrel, with eight rectangular rifling grooves; this model was accepted as the Infantry Rifle, but more changes were made until it was finally placed into production. The third and final model had the barrel shortened from 32 to 30 inches, and the calibre reduced to .653, which allowed the rifle to fire a .625 calibre carbine bullet, with a greased patch to grip the now-seven rectangular grooves in the barrel. The rifle had a simple folding backsight with the standard large lock mechanism (marked 'Tower' and 'G.R.' under a Crown, although later ones had 'Enfield,' but these only saw service after Waterloo), with a swan-neck cock as fitted to the 'Brown Bess.' Like the German Jager rifles, it had a scrolled brass trigger guard to help ensure a firm grip and a raised cheek piece on the left-hand side of the butt. Like many rifles, it had a 'butt-trap' or patchbox where greased linen patches and tools could be stored. The lid of the patchbox was brass, and hinged at the rear so it could be flipped up. The stocks were made of walnut and held the barrel with three flat captive wedges. The rifle also had a metal locking bar to accommodate up to a 23- inch sword bayonet, similar to that of the Jager rifle. The Baker was 45 inches from muzzle to butt, 12 inches shorter than the Infantry Musket, and weighed almost nine pounds. Gunpowder fouling in the grooves made the weapon much slower to load and affected its accuracy, so a cleaning kit was stored in the patch box of the Baker; the Infantry Muskets were not issued with cleaning kits.  read more

Code: 25073

A Beautiful Ancient Bronze and Enamel Book Clasp Around 1100 Years Old. From the Era of Anglo Saxon England & The Viking Incursions into Britain Through to The Early Crusades Period

Circa 10th-12th century AD. A stunning and most beautiful antiquity perfect for an antiquarian bibliophile as an example of the rarest of artefacts used to protect valuable volumes illuminated manuscripts and testaments.

A small and most intricate gem from the days of the Anglo Saxon’s and Vikings.

Originally from the Christian Eastern Roman Empire. A bronze tongue-shaped clasp with pelleted border and reserved peacock on an enamelled field. Anglo Saxon to early Norman period. Very fine condition. Two examples in the gallery show a 1000 year old book and a 1000 year old old testament that both had clasps such as this. The Bible is an ancient text. Like every other ancient text, the originals have not survived the ravages of time. What we have are ancient copies of the original which date to hundreds of years after their composition, for example from around 700 AD This is normal for ancient texts. For example, Julius Caesar chronicled his conquest of Gaul in his work On The Gallic War in the first century B.C. The earliest manuscript in existence dates to the 8th century AD, some 900 years later. The oldest biblical text is on the Hinnom Scrolls ? two silver amulets that date to the seventh century B.C. These rolled-up pieces of silver were discovered in 1979-80, during excavations led by Gabriel Barklay in a series of burial caves at Ketef Hinnom. When the silver scrolls were unrolled and translated, they revealed the priestly Benediction from Num 6:24-26 reading, ?May Yahweh bless you and keep you; May Yahweh cause his face to Shine upon you and grant you Peace.?6 The Ketef Hinnom scrolls contain the oldest portion of Scripture ever found outside of the Bible and significantly predate even the earliest Dead Sea Scrolls. They also contain the oldest extra-biblical reference to YHWH. Given their early date, they provide evidence that the books of Moses were not written in the exilic or postexilic period as some critics have suggested.


Richard Lassels, an expatriate Roman Catholic priest, first used the phrase “Grand Tour” in his 1670 book Voyage to Italy, published posthumously in Paris in 1670. In its introduction, Lassels listed four areas in which travel furnished "an accomplished, consummate traveler" with opportunities to experience first hand the intellectual, the social, the ethical, and the political life of the Continent.

The English gentry of the 17th century believed that what a person knew came from the physical stimuli to which he or she has been exposed. Thus, being on-site and seeing famous works of art and history was an all important part of the Grand Tour. So most Grand Tourists spent the majority of their time visiting museums and historic sites.

Once young men began embarking on these journeys, additional guidebooks and tour guides began to appear to meet the needs of the 20-something male and female travelers and their tutors traveling a standard European itinerary. They carried letters of reference and introduction with them as they departed from southern England, enabling them to access money and invitations along the way.

With nearly unlimited funds, aristocratic connections and months or years to roam, these wealthy young tourists commissioned paintings, perfected their language skills and mingled with the upper crust of the Continent.

The wealthy believed the primary value of the Grand Tour lay in the exposure both to classical antiquity and the Renaissance, and to the aristocratic and fashionably polite society of the European continent. In addition, it provided the only opportunity to view specific works of art, and possibly the only chance to hear certain music. A Grand Tour could last from several months to several years. The youthful Grand Tourists usually traveled in the company of a Cicerone, a knowledgeable guide or tutor.

The ‘Grand Tour’ era of classical acquisitions from history existed up to around the 1850’s, and extended around the whole of Europe, Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, and the Holy Land. The book clasp is 10.4 grams, 38mm (1 1/2" inches long)  read more

Code: 22940