Antique Arms & Militaria

A Fine & Rare Original Heavy Grade Imperial Roman Legionary Cavalry Officer's Iron Prick Spur 1st - 2nd Century A.D From Emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius & Nero to The Era Of Emperors Trajan & Hadrian

In very nicely preserved condition. A good heavy grade quality and rare piece from Imperial Rome.

Imperial cavalry (30 BC – 476 AD)
When the Republic transitioned into the Empire, Augustus made a regular Auxilia corp of non-citizen soldiers. These professional Roman soldiers, like the Legions, were subjects recruited from the non-citizens in provinces controlled by Rome that had strong native cavalry traditions. These men, unlike the Allied Foederetii cavalry, were a regular part of the Roman army and were paid and trained by the Roman State. Arrian describes them as well-equipped and performing well-executed manoeuvres. A typical cavalrymen of the Ala would be paid 20 percent more than a typical citizen legionary.

Roman Auxilia cavalry were usually heavily armoured in mail and armed with a short lance, javelins, the Spatha long sword, and sometimes bows for specialist Horse archer units. These men primarily served as Medium missile cavalry for flanking, scouting, skirmish, and pursuit. As opposed to more modern cavalry units where the horses were kept in stables separate from the riders, Roman cavalry housed the riders and horses in the same barracks.
Although Augustus created regular Auxiliaries, irregular allied forces were still used. For example, Marcus Aurelius recruited Sarmatian allied cavalry to be stationed in Britain. By the 4th century, Romans relied heavily on irregular allies from the migrating Germanic tribes and the Huns.

Augustus, Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), was also known as Octavian, and was the founder of the Roman Empire. He reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. The reign of Augustus initiated an imperial cult, as well as an era of imperial peace (the Pax Romana or Pax Augusta) in which the Roman world was largely free of armed conflict. The Principate system of government was established during his reign and lasted until the Crisis of the Third Century.

Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37, was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Claudius Nero and his wife, Livia Drusilla. In 38 BC, Tiberius's mother divorced his father and married Augustus. Following the untimely deaths of Augustus's two grandsons and adopted heirs, Gaius and Lucius Caesar, Tiberius was designated Augustus's successor. Prior to this, Tiberius had proved himself an able diplomat, and one of the most successful Roman generals: his conquests of Pannonia, Dalmatia, Raetia, and (temporarily) parts of Germania laid the foundations for the empire's northern frontier.

Caligula, Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in AD 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Agrippina the Elder, members of the first ruling family of the Roman Empire. He was born two years before Tiberius was made emperor. Gaius accompanied his father, mother and siblings on campaign in Germania, at little more than four or five years old. He had been named after Gaius Julius Caesar, but his father's soldiers affectionately nicknamed him "Caligula" ('little boot')
Caligula's sister, Agrippina the Younger, wrote an autobiography that included a detailed account of Caligula's reign, but it too is lost. Agrippina was banished by Caligula for her connection to Marcus Lepidus, who conspired against him.170287Caligula also seized the inheritance of Agrippina's son, the future emperor Nero. Gaetulicus flattered Caligula in writings now lost. Suetonius wrote his biography of Caligula 80 years after his assassination, and Cassius Dio over 180 years after; the latter offers a loose chronology. Josephus gives a detailed account of Caligula's assassination and its aftermath, published around 93 AD, but it is thought to draw upon a "richly embroidered and historically imaginative" anonymous biography of Herod Agrippa, presented as a Jewish "national hero".286 Pliny the Elder's Natural History has a few brief references to Caligula, possibly based these on the accounts by his friend Suetonius, or an unnamed, shared source. Of the few surviving sources on Caligula, none paints Caligula in a favourable light. Little has survived on the first two years of his reign, and only limited details on later significant events, such as the annexation of Mauretania, Caligula's military actions in Britannia, and the basis of his feud with the Senate

Claudius, Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor at Lugdunum in Roman Gaul, where his father was stationed as a military legate. He was the first Roman emperor to be born outside Italy.

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his death in AD 68.
Nero was born at Antium in AD 37, the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger (great-granddaughter of the emperor Augustus). Nero was three when his father died.1 By the time Nero turned eleven,2 his mother married Emperor Claudius, who then adopted Nero as his heir. Upon Claudius' death in AD 54, Nero ascended to the throne with the backing of the Praetorian Guard and the Senate. In the early years of his reign, Nero was advised and guided by his mother Agrippina, his tutor Seneca the Younger, and his praetorian prefect Sextus Afranius Burrus, but sought to rule independently and rid himself of restraining influences. The power struggle between Nero and his mother reached its climax when he orchestrated her murder. Roman sources also implicate Nero in the deaths of both his wife Claudia Octavia – supposedly so he could marry Poppaea Sabina – and his stepbrother Britannicus.

With his death, the Julio-Claudian dynasty ended. Chaos would ensue in the year of the Four Emperors.

4 inches x 3.5 inches, 2 inch long spike .  read more

Code: 21916

An Incredibly Rare, Superb 3rd to 2nd Century B.C. Falcata {Machaira Sword} From the Invasion of Rome Era of the Punic Wars, by The Great General Hannibal. It Is Also It Is The Very Same Design of Sword Used by Alexander The Great & His Generals

A fabulous original historical artefact of ancient Romano Greek weaponry. Used by a high ranked warrior in the ancient Roman Republic period in Carthage. A design so efficient and effective in combat it was as popular in Ancient Rome as it was in the same period in Ancient Greece.
You simply do not often see such a rare and iconic original ancient sword, used by the most famed protagonists of the Carthaginian Wars, against the might of Rome, such as the Battle on Cannae, during the period of one of the greatest eras in classical history, let alone have the opportunity to own one.
Also a style of sword used by the Ancient Greeks in the time of Alexander the Great. The falcata or machaira is one of the most distinctive swords of classical history, and the machaira's design enabled a warrior to deliver a sharp blow from above, with its inverted curve and powerful blade it can be seen depicted in the earliest decoration of Hellenistic attic vases and early pottery from ancient Greece, paintings from great historical battles in early art work of the medieval period

Two similar examples are in the Metropolitan in New York see photo 10 in the gallery

In 219 B.C., Hannibal of Carthage led an attack on Saguntum, an independent city allied with Rome, which sparked the outbreak of the Second Punic War. He then marched his massive army across the Pyrenees and Alps into central Italy in what would be remembered as one of the most famous campaigns in history. After a string of victories, the most notable coming at Cannae in 216 B.C., Hannibal had gained a foothold in southern Italy, but declined to mount an attack on Rome itself. The Romans rebounded, however, driving the Carthaginians out of Spain and launching an invasion of North Africa. In 203 B.C., Hannibal abandoned the struggle in Italy to defend North Africa, and he suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of Publius Cornelius Scipio at Zama the following year. Though the treaty concluding the Second Punic War put an end to Carthage’s status as an imperial power, Hannibal continued to pursue his lifelong dream of destroying Rome up until his death in 183 B.C. This is simply a stunning and rare original Iberian single -edged Falcata of the 3rd-2nd century BC and later. A single-edged machaira sword of falcata type, with curved hilt of regular geometric shape, lateral iron guard (later addition); grooves on one side of the upper part of blade; three circular rivets of circular section which fastened the organic handle to the hilt. Weighing approx 630 grams , almost 22 inches long, and in nice condition for age.

A fine example piece, from the ancient Roman period over 2000 years old. Although this sword is now in an obvious ancient, and historical, russetted condition, with some elements lacking, every item made of iron from this era, such as the rarest of swords and daggers, even in the Royal Collection, are in this very same state of preservation.

See Quesada Sanz, F.,El armamento Ibérico, Madrid, 1991; Quesada Sanz, F., Arma y símbolo: la falcata Ibérica, Alicante, 1992; Quesada Sanz, F., ‘Patterns of interaction, Celtic and Iberian weapons in Iron Age Spain’ in Celtic connections, volume 2, papers from the Tenth International Congress of Celtic Studies, Edinburgh, 1995, Edinburgh, 2005; a similar specimen with a near identical hilt is the Iberian Falcata from Cerro Muriano (Córdoba, Spain) which is preserved in the Copper Museum of Córdoba (III-II century BC).
Since the 5th-4th century BC, the Iberian warriors armed themselves with round shields and single edged swords (falcatas) that were the Etruscan version of the Greek machaira. The latter type of sword was duly transformed into a completely new type, with a different size, shape and function, the falcata, already in use in the Iberian area by c. 490 BC. This type of curved, slashing, single-edged sword is generally accepted by the scholars as the 'national' weapon of the Iberians, and was commonly used in the Iberian Peninsula, worn by the warriors usually suspended on the left side in a scabbard to which was often attached a short knife. It was a terrifying cut-and-thrust sword, with an average blade length of 45cm. General Commander-in-Chief of the Carthaginian army, Hannibal was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded Carthage's main forces against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. He is widely considered one of the greatest military commanders in human history. His father, Hamilcar Barca, was a leading Carthaginian commander during the First Punic War. His younger brothers were Mago and Hasdrubal, and he was brother-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair, who also commanded Carthaginian armies. Hannibal lived during a period of great tension in the western Mediterranean Basin, triggered by the emergence of the Roman Republic as a great power after it had established its supremacy over Italy. Although Rome had won the First Punic War, revanchism prevailed in Carthage, symbolised by the alleged pledge that Hannibal made to his father never to be a friend of Rome. The Second Punic War broke out in 218 BC after Hannibal's attack on Saguntum, an ally of Rome in Hispania. He then made his famous military exploit of carrying war to Italy by crossing the Alps with his North African war elephants. In his first few years in Italy, he won a succession of dramatic victories at the Trebia, Lake Trasimene, and Cannae. He distinguished himself for his ability to determine his and his opponent's respective strengths and weaknesses, and to plan battles accordingly. Hannibal's well-planned strategies allowed him to conquer several Italian cities allied to Rome. Hannibal occupied most of southern Italy for 15 years, but could not win a decisive victory, as the Romans led by Fabius Maximus avoided confrontation with him, instead waging a war of attrition. A counter-invasion of North Africa led by Scipio Africanus forced him to return to Carthage. Scipio eventually defeated Hannibal at the Battle of Zama, having previously driven Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal out of the Iberian Peninsula. As with all our items it comes complete with our certificate of authenticity.  read more

Code: 23521

A Most Rare & Superb, Original, Imperial Roman Legionary's & Cavalryman's Spatha Long Sword, Late 3rd Century Over 1700 Years Old. The Very Form Of Sword As Our Tribune’s Ring Owner Would Use.

Made and used from the eras of Emperor Tacitus and Emperor Diocletian to Emperor Constantine the Great. Only the second example we have seen or offered in the past 15 years. A double-edged original Imperial Roman period spatha sword of the typology of Illerup Wyhl, with excellently preserved long blade, long tang, with triple fullers along its length, parallel cutting edges tapering down towards its point, Fine condition. What a fabulous original ‘statement piece’ for any collection or decor. In the world of collecting there is so little remaining in the world from this highly significant era in European and British history. And to be able to own and display such an iconic original representation from this time is nothing short of a remarkable privilege. A wonderful example piece, from the ancient imperial age. Effectively, from this time of almost two thousand years ago, from a collectors point of view, almost nothing else significant survives at all, only the odd small coin or very rarely seen, and almost impossible to own, carved statuary.
The iconographic sources indicate that Roman swords underwent big changes in the later 2nd and 3rd centuries. Longer swords, more popular within Germanic and Celtic cultures, would have been useful for fighting on horseback, but they were soon spread among the infantrymen and massively produced in the Roman workshops, from which they were brought home by many barbarians after mercenary or auxiliary service in Roman army. This, together with the possibility of war booty, explains why the mass of these swords have been found in the territories of the Barbaricum. The graves and the ritual water deposits of the marshy areas of Illerup Adal, Thorsberg, Vimose and many other localities (Simris) have delivered an amount of swords. Illerup has produced fine well-preserved swords, some with rather unusual patterns. Dr. Miks refers to the spathae of the 'lllerup-Wyhl' type I as to a group of blades which in terms of their proportions, dimensions and shape, are probably a mixture of blades of the more classical 'Straubing-Nydam' and 'Lauriacum-Hromowka' types of long Roman swords. They are one of the most complicated category of Late Roman swords and therefore difficult to clearly identify.
The Spatha was first introduced to the Romans by Celtic Mercenaries during the Second Punic War. The Celts would have used weaponry and armour from their homeland, and one of the Celtic weapons would have been the Spatha. Many believe that the Spatha was adopted by the Romans due to contact with Germania, however this is not true.

The earlier gladius sword was gradually replaced by the spatha from the late 2nd to the 3rd century. From the early 3rd century, legionaries and cavalrymen began to wear their swords on the left side, perhaps because the scutum had been abandoned and the spatha had replaced the gladius.

In the imperial period, the Romans adopted the original Greek term, spáthē (σπάθη), as spatha, which still carried the general meaning of any object considered long and flat. Spatha appears first in Pliny and then Seneca with different meanings: a spatula, a metal-working implement, a palm-leaf and so on. There is no hint of any native Roman sword called a spatha.

Referring to an actual sword, the term first appears in the pages of Tacitus with reference to an incident of the early empire. The British king, Caractacus, having rebelled, found himself trapped on a rocky hill, so that if he turned one way he encountered the gladii of the legionaries, and if the other, the spathae of the auxiliaries. There is no indication in Tacitus that they were cavalry.

The next mention of spathae is in the 5th century, by Vegetius, now as a weapon carried by infantry. The term "Roman Iron Age" refers approximately to the time of the Roman Empire in north Europe, which was outside the jurisdiction of the empire, but, judging from the imported Roman artifacts, was influenced by Roman civilization. One source of artifacts from this period are the bogs of Schleswig, Holstein and Denmark. Objects were deliberately broken and thrown into the bog in the belief that they could go with a deceased chief on his voyage to a better place.

A cache of 90 swords was found at Nydam Mose in Denmark in 1858. They were in the form of the spatha and therefore have been classified as "Roman swords". They are dated to the 3rd to 4th centuries. Many connect the Nydam cache with the sword of Beowulf, who was supposed to be a contemporary. See two photos of these in the gallery. Another photo in the gallery is of a depiction of Roman spartha swords, with hilts fashioned in the shape of eagles' heads, in Roman carved statuary (Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs, c. AD 300) in Venice.
This is the typical sword used to great effect, for example at the Battle of Cibalae
The Battle of Cibalae was fought in 316 between the two Roman emperors Constantine I (r. 306–337) and Licinius (r. 308–324). The site of the battle near the town of Cibalae in the Roman province of Pannonia Secunda, was approximately 350 kilometers within the territory of Licinius. Constantine won a resounding victory, despite being outnumbered.
The opposing armies met on the plain between the rivers Sava and Drava near the town of Cibalae. The battle lasted all day. The battle opened with Constantine's forces arrayed in a defile adjacent to mountain slopes. The army of Licinius was stationed on lower ground nearer the town of Cibalae, Licinius took care to secure his flanks. As the infantry of Constantine needed to move forward through broken ground the cavalry was thrown out ahead, to act as a screen. Constantine moved his formation down on to the more open ground and advanced against the awaiting Licinians. Following a period of skirmishing and intense missile fire at a distance, the opposing main bodies of infantry met in close combat and fierce hand-to-hand fighting ensued. This battle of attrition was ended, late in the day, when Constantine personally led a cavalry charge from the right wing of his army. The charge was decisive, Licinius' ranks were broken. As many as 20,000 of Licinius' troops were killed in the hard-fought battle. The surviving cavalry of the defeated army accompanied Licinius when he fled the field under the cover of darkness.

See Bishop, M.C. & Coulston, J.C.N., Roman military equipment, from the Punic wars to the fall of Rome, London, 1993; Miks, C., Studien zur Romischen Schwertbewaffnung in der Kaiserzeit, I-II Banden, Rahden, 2007; D’Amato, R., Roman army Units in the Western Provinces, Oxford, 2019; for very similar specimens see Miks, 2007, n.A146,36,37,43 (Illerup).Blade weight 1.1 kg, 98.5cm (38 3/4"). In the world of collecting early weaponry a sword is defined as it’s blade, it’s hilt was separate often made of vulnerable woods and materials that do not survive the ravages of time. You simply do not often see such rare and iconic original ancient swords used by one of the most famed empires in the world, during the period of one of the greatest eras in classical history, let alone have the opportunity to own one. We will include for the new owner a complimentary wooden display stand, but this amazing ancient artefact of antiquity would also look spectacular mounted within a bespoke case frame, or, on a fine cabinet maker constructed display panel.  read more

Code: 23517

A Superb Ancient Greek Bronze Scholar’s Tablet Ring From The Time of Alexander the Great Circa 340 BC. Engraved With Symbolic Crosshatching Of Stylized Pre-Euclidean Geometry, And In The Proportions of A Greek Stele. From the Greek στήλη

Another collection of fine antiquities will be added soon, including this most rare scholar’s tablet ring from the time of Alexander the Great. A ring as could be worn by such as one of the greatest philosophers in history, Aristoteles. Very fine naturally aged bronze ring, in rectangular tablet form, with crosshatch engraving of stylized pre-Euclidean geometry

The great philosopher Aristoteles taught Alexander the Great in Naoussa
In the year 342 bc King Philip II of Macedonia invited. in the area of Naoussa, the great philosopher Aristoteles to educate his 13 year old son Alexander, who will be later known throughout the world as Alexander the Great.
Aristoteles accepted to undertake the education of Alexander and the children of Macedonian nobles in the Temple of the Nymphs near Naoussa. Many of these students would become Alexander’s friends and future generals. Aristotle taught Alexander and his friends about medicine, philosophy, morals, religion, logic, and art. Under Aristotle’s tutelage, Alexander developed a passion for the works of Homer. Aristotle gave him an annotated copy, which Alexander later carried on his campaigns.
This location of the Temple of the Nymphs near Naoussa is rounded with nature, trees, a river and a small swamps. Walking through the nature the philosopher Aristoteles taught Alexander using the epic poems of Homer.
The location is an incredible area that has more than 2300 years of history.

Alexander the Great himself famously wore jewelry that was full of imagery and symbolism. He frequently commissioned and wore jewelry, of bronze, silver and gold, with themes that celebrated his divinity, his victories, and his idea of a unified universe. He expressed his divine background and goals by using mythical creatures. Additionally, to emphasize his status as a monarch.

Steles have also been used to publish laws and decrees, to record a ruler's exploits and honours, to mark sacred territories, generally taller than it is wide, erected in the ancient world as a monument. The surface of the stele often has text, ornamentation, or both.

Picture in the gallery of Stele of Arniadas.

Every single item from The Lanes Armoury is accompanied by our unique Certificate of Authenticity. Part of our continued dedication to maintain the standards forged by us over the past 100 years of our family’s trading, as Britain’s oldest established, and favourite, armoury and gallery  read more

Code: 25437

A Beautiful Ancient Viking War Hammer. An Iron Hammer-Axe From 900 to 1000 Years Old in Fabulously Preserved Condition

An iron war hammer-axehead with wide bearded blade, round socket and a rounded hammer section with expanded end extension to the rear.

In 793, terror descended on the coast of Northumbria as armed raiders attacked the defenceless monastery of St Cuthbert on Lindisfarne. The terrified monks watched helplessly as the invaders made off with a haul of treasure and a clutch of captives. It was the first recorded raid by the Vikings, seaborne pirates from Scandinavia who would prey on coastal communities in north-western Europe for more than two centuries and create for themselves a reputation as fierce and pitiless warriors. The Anglo-Saxon cleric Alcuin of York wrote dramatically of the Lindisfarne raid that the church was spattered with the blood of the priests of God, despoiled of all its ornaments given as a prey to pagan peoples and subsequent (mainly Christian) writers and chroniclers lost few opportunities to demonise the (mainly pagan) Vikings. Yet, though they undeniably carried out very destructive and violent attacks, from small-scale raids against churches to major campaigns involving thousands of warriors, the Vikings formed part of a complex and often sophisticated Scandinavian culture. As well as raiders they were traders, reaching as far east as the rivers of Russia and the Caspian Sea; explorers, sending ships far across the Atlantic to land on the coastline of North America five centuries before Columbus; poets, composing verse and prose sagas of great power, and artists, creating works of astonishing beauty.Their victims did not refer to them as Vikings. That name came later, becoming popularised by the 11th century and possibly deriving from the word vik, which in the Old Norse language the Vikings spoke means bay or inlet. Instead they were called Dani (Danes) there was no sense at the time that this should refer only to the inhabitants of what we now call Denmark pagani (pagans) or simply Normanni Northmen In medieval Scandinavian languages, a Vikingr is a pirate, a freebooter who seeks wealth either by ship-borne raids on foreign coasts or by waylaying more peaceful seafarers in home waters. There is also an abstract noun Viking, meaning ‘the act of going raiding overseas

In the world of collecting early weaponry an axe is defined as it’s head, it’s haft was separate often made of vulnerable woods that can not survive the ravages of time.

One of the most famous Viking axes is Helm (named after the Norse death goddess), which belonged to King Magnus of Norway and Denmark. He is said to have inherited the weapon from his father, Olav Haraldsson of Norway, whose ax features prominently in Norway’s national coat of arms. Some Viking axes if they were wielded by a particularly strong and skilled warrior could even cut through chainmail and helmets. When King Magnus’s poet credited the king with being able to split heads like firewood, he wasn’t necessarily being hyperbolic. Writing about the pre-Viking Franks and their use of throwing axes, the Francisca, Procopius makes it clear that the Franks threw their axes immediately before hand to hand combat with the purpose of breaking shields and disrupting the enemy line while possibly wounding or killing an enemy warrior. The weight of the head and length of the haft would allow the axe to be thrown with considerable momentum to an effective range of about 12 m (40 ft). Even if the edge of the blade were not to strike the target, the weight of the iron head could cause injury. The francisca also had a psychological effect, in that, on the throwing of the francisca, the enemy might turn and run in the fear that another volley was coming. It is most logical that the Vikings may well have adopted this system of axe throwing combat from the earlier Franks, as it seemed most effective in numerous combat arenas.

For reference of type see; Cf. Sedov, B.B. Finno-Ugri i Balti v Epokhi Srednevekovija, 1987, table CXXIV 7".  read more

Code: 25459

A Beautiful, Large & Most Fabulous Original Antique Ching Dynasty 'Rose Medallion' Canton Export Porcelain Lamp

An absolutely stunning and beautiful quality original Chinese export antique lamp, Qing Dynasty {Ching} circa 1830, with the body of a fine large size antique Cantonese porcelain vase, in rose medallion pattern with its lacquered highly decorative pierced brass oil lamp mountings, created and assembled in Paris in the 1830's. Later converted to electricity.

A large piece that could be categorised as a centre piece, most surviving antique Canton export lamps are the smaller size side lamps, but this is a statement piece of superb presence. The decoration centres around six dominant panels. On one side there are two panels with scenes of high status mandarins and courtiers above another over a panel decorated with birds and butterflies. The other side a central panel decorated with birds between two panels of people. Antique Chinese export porcelain is now become incredibly desirable and highly valuable due to the ever rising and powerful, so called Tiger Economy, of China. Rare antique Chinese porcelain is now attracting values of 10 to 100 times the prices achieved for them just 30 years ago or so. 'Canton' porcelains are fine Chinese ceramic wares made for export in the 18th to the 20th centuries, this is a piece from the earlier part of that period in the Ching Qing dynasty.

The wares were made, glazed and fired at Jingdezhen but decorated with enamels at Canton (Guangzhou) in southern China prior to export by sea through that port. Canton was a large, densely populated Chinese city. Most of the buildings in this ca. 1800 view in our gallery are two- or three-story buildings used both as residences and shops. The pagoda and five-story watchtower rise above the city, surrounded by the mountains where country estates and guard houses were located. Prominently featured in the foreground, with foreign flags, the area to which foreigners were confined was a tiny district of several acres on the banks of the river, where thousands of boats collected for trade. Many cities along China's southern coast had created foreign quarters for much earlier generations of Indian and Middle Eastern traders. The Westerners were just the latest arrivals. During the passage from Macau up the Pearl River foreigners passed through densely populated agricultural lands and market towns, but they never saw a major city until they reached Guangzhou. We call the trading system that lasted from 1700 to 1842 on China's south coast the Canton system because of this city's dominance. Guangzhou (which Europeans called Canton), an ancient city and one of the largest in South China, had flourished as an administrative and trading centre for over 1000 years before the Westerners arrived. Arab and Persian traders had lived in its foreign quarters under the Tang dynasty since the 8th century. Like most traditional Chinese cities, Canton had a large wall surrounding the central districts, major avenues within the wall, extensive market districts outside the wall, and constant contact by riverboats with the surrounding countryside and distant ports. 25 inches high not including light fitting 33 inches high with shade. The shade is around 50 years old, made of silk, but its condition is now most poor and shown for display purposes only, for use today a new example should be considered  read more

Code: 22231

A Very Good & Fine Original Medieval 'Crusader' Knight's Bronze Battle Mace & Scorpion Flail Mace Head Circa 12th Century. Around 900 Years Old, In Superb Condition and With Excellent Natural Age Patination

Made of Bronze Copper Alloy. A weapon made at the time at great cost, and only for the most affluent knight, a battle mace for the crushing and smashing of armour. The mace head is approx. the width of a pool or billiard ball. This fabulous mace could be mounted upon a haft {pretty much none of the original hafts from that period are now still in existence, being organic they decay very quickly once buried} or the aperture filled with lead and a large hand wrought iron staple, that would then be chained, and further mounted upon a short wooden haft to use as a flail mace.
Although no original early mace heads, in reality, were that large, they were heavy and powerful enough, combined with the impetus of a powerful swing, to be incredibly and dramatically effective at smashing through armour, and even iron plate helmets.

This bronze mace was made and used in the era of the first, through to all the knightly crusades to the Holy Land to reclaim Jerusalem.

The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Christian Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these military expeditions are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that had the objective of reconquering Jerusalem and its surrounding area from Muslim rule after the region had been conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate centuries earlier. Beginning with the First Crusade, which resulted in the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, dozens of military campaigns were organised, providing a focal point of European history for centuries. Crusading declined rapidly after the 15th century.

In 1095, after a Byzantine request for aid, Pope Urban II proclaimed the first expedition at the Council of Clermont. He encouraged military support for Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos and called for an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Across all social strata in Western Europe, there was an enthusiastic response. Participants came from all over Europe and had a variety of motivations. These included religious salvation, satisfying feudal obligations, opportunities for renown, and economic or political advantage. Later expeditions were conducted by generally more organised armies, sometimes led by a king. All were granted papal indulgences. Initial successes established four Crusader states: the County of Edessa; the Principality of Antioch; the Kingdom of Jerusalem; and the County of Tripoli. A European presence remained in the region in some form until the fall of Acre in 1291. After this, no further large military campaigns were organised.  read more

Code: 25454

A Superb Queen Anne, Early 18th Century Bone Topped Walking Dandy Cane

It is a delight to get such an early example of a fine English 'Dandy' cane, it has a wonderful carved bone top with intermittent baleen inserts, and a fine grain hardwood haft. Every other portrait of a Georgian, Victorian, or Edwardian gentleman, shows some nattily dressed fellow with a walking stick pegged jauntily into the ground or a slim baton negligently tucked under the elbow. The dress cane was the quintessential mark of the dandy for three centuries, part fashion accessory, part aid to communication, part weapon, and of course, a walking aid. A dandy, historically, is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of self. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle despite coming from a middle-class background, especially in late 18th- and early 19th-century Britain.

Previous manifestations of the petit-maitre (French for "small master") and the Muscadin have been noted by John C. Prevost, but the modern practice of dandyism first appeared in the revolutionary 1790s, both in London and in Paris. The dandy cultivated cynical reserve, yet to such extremes that novelist George Meredith, himself no dandy, once defined cynicism as "intellectual dandyism". Some took a more benign view; Thomas Carlyle wrote in Sartor Resartus that a dandy was no more than "a clothes-wearing man". Honore De Balzac introduced the perfectly worldly and unmoved Henri de Marsay in La fille aux yeux d'or (1835), a part of La Comedie Humaine, who fulfils at first the model of a perfect dandy, until an obsessive love-pursuit unravels him in passionate and murderous jealousy.

Charles Baudelaire defined the dandy, in the later "metaphysical" phase of dandyism, as one who elevates esthetics to a living religion, that the dandy's mere existence reproaches the responsible citizen of the middle class: "Dandyism in certain respects comes close to spirituality and to stoicism" and "These beings have no other status, but that of cultivating the idea of beauty in their own persons, of satisfying their passions, of feeling and thinking Dandyism is a form of Romanticism. Contrary to what many thoughtless people seem to believe, dandyism is not even an excessive delight in clothes and material elegance. For the perfect dandy, these things are no more than the symbol of the aristocratic superiority of mind."

The linkage of clothing with political protest had become a particularly English characteristic during the 18th century. Given these connotations, dandyism can be seen as a political protest against the levelling effect of egalitarian principles, often including nostalgic adherence to feudal or pre-industrial values, such as the ideals of "the perfect gentleman" or "the autonomous aristocrat". Paradoxically, the dandy required an audience, as Susann Schmid observed in examining the "successfully marketed lives" of Oscar Wilde and Lord Byron, who exemplify the dandy's roles in the public sphere, both as writers and as personae providing sources of gossip and scandal. Nigel Rodgers in The Dandy: Peacock or Enigma? Questions Wilde's status as a genuine dandy, seeing him as someone who only assumed a dandified stance in passing, not a man dedicated to the exacting ideals of dandyism. With a small repair at the replaced brass ferrule.  read more

Code: 16579

A Singularly Beautiful & Rare Victorian Folk Art Silk 'Royal' Maritime Embroidery Woolwork, A ‘Jack Tar’ Sailor’s Woolwork or ‘Woolie’. The White Ensign, Red Ensign, Blue Ensign, Union Flag, Scottish Standard, Shamrock Flag

Although encompassed in the term 'woolwork', the better quality examples, such as this, were made from silk obtained by the sailors who stitched them, usually in China or Japan. Set in a simulated rosewood frame. 19th century Victorian royal crest with British maritime flags of the Royal Navy, The White Ensign, Red Ensign, Blue Ensign, Union Flag, Scottish Standard, Shamrock Flag and surmounted with a life preserver. At the base is the royal motto in a scroll 'Dieu Et Mon Droit' beneath the English rose the Scottish thistle and Irish shamrock. All on a blue silk ground with silk and embroidery decoration throughout. Often made by sailors when at sea during quiet periods and brought home for framing. Sometimes called a sailor's silkwork. From about 1840 to World War I, many British sailors passed the long hours in port or on the open sea by sewing these wool pictures, commonly called Woolies. Many have a naive charm, but some are so well executed that they rival their counterparts in oil. Primarily Woolies depict ships, but some are known to contain other subjects such as patriotic symbols, flags and crests. As Woolies were works of pride or sentiment, none were done in bad taste or caricature. Unfortunately, the names of the artists have been lost to history because Woolies tend to be unsigned. But sometimes they give us small clues as to their origin.
The enchantment of Woolies is that they are folk art. They were made by the hands of men who were not formally trained in embroidery. Regardless, it is understandable how such tough men could create such delicate pictures. Woolies are the creative product of sailors spare time, excess materials and a basic, yet necessary, familiarity with needle and thread. Until the mid-1880s the average seaman had no standard uniform. Not only did he sew his own clothes, but also one of his duties was to maintain the ship?s sails. Furthermore, sailors used embroidery to individualize and embellish their garments, frequently in eccentric designs. Therefore, spare time between watches combined with basic sewing skills and imagination became the rich soil from which the art of Woolies grew.

Most of the materials used to make Woolies were found on board ship. Sail canvas, duck cloth from sailors trousers or a simple linen or cotton fabric was used as a base. The stretcher commonly was made from excess wood with simple tenon joints, without wedges. Only the Berlin wool, cotton or silk would need to be brought from home or acquired in a foreign port. Sailors mainly chose to use vivacious colours chiefly white, blue, red, brown and varying shades of green. Early Woolies are made of naturally dyed wool. After the development of chemical dyes in the mid-1850s, sailors could obtain a greater range of colours at a less expensive price.

Only when the sailor returned home did he frame it. Today collectors frequently place woolies in maple frames, but originally the frames were quite diverse. Sometimes they were made of a simple wood; other times they were highly carved or gilded. Woolies reached their height from about 1860-80. Several events led to the eventual demise of the craft. After the advent of steam engine power, the dependency on sails and the large crews required to maintain them came to an end. This in turn influenced the size of the crews as well as their required skills. Sailors no longer needed to know how to sew in order to repair the sails, nor did they need to make their own clothing anymore. Photography also allowed a sailor to remember his travels through photographs instead of his own wool work.

Jack Tar (also Jacktar, Jack-tar or Tar) is a common English term originally used to refer to seamen of the Merchant or Royal Navy, particularly during the period of the British Empire

In the age of wooden sailing vessels, a ship's rigging was rope made of hemp, which would rot quickly in such a damp environment. To avoid this, the ropes and cables of the standing rig were soaked in tar, which had to be replenished by tarring.
Seamen were known to 'tar' their clothes before departing on voyages, in order to make them waterproof, before the invention of waterproof fabrics. Later they frequently wore coats and hats made from a waterproof fabric

Top left blue silk ground has some fading. Size 23 inches x 24 inches in frame  read more

Code: 20991

A Very Fine Pair of Absolutely Beautiful French, Napoleonic 1st Empire Period, Circa 1804, Duelling Pistols, by Arlot of Paris, Near Identical To Napoleon's Pair of Duelling Pistols Taken at Waterloo

Made circa 1804 by master gunsmith and maker to the King of France, Jean Arlot of Paris. Jean Arlot was a very fine gunmaker, based in Paris [c.1780-1815] and was the Royal gunmaker to King Louis XVI, prior to the French Revolution. These wonderful pistols were made in the period when Napoleon declared himself Emperor of all France, known as the 1st French Empire Period. There is a most similar beautiful pair of French duellers in the Rijksmuseum in Holland [see them in our photo gallery for comparison] that belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte, those pistols came into the possession of Lieutenant Henry Sagermans of Brussels shortly after the Battle of Waterloo. Sagermans claimed the pistols were found in Napoleon's travel carriage which had been abandoned near the battlefield. This French Empire period pair of pistols were originally crafted in the late flintlock period and then expertly converted to percussion, including careful engraving the hammer in order to match the original lock’s engraving which are signed "ARLOT" at the centres. The swamped barrels have fine "micro-groove" style rifling, a dovetailed blade front sight, engraved Bachereau "A PARIS", a sighting groove that extends onto the breech plug, and a notch rear sight within the groove. They are also equipped with adjustable single set triggers, very finely engraved furniture, spurred trigger guards, and a chequered and carved half-stocks. Fine with 85% plus blue finish light case colours, crisp engraving, grey and brown patina on the balance, and general light age and storage related wear. Aside from a single hairline crack the stocks are superb, and they have crisp carving and micro chequering with light wear commensurate for age.

Napoleon gifted allies and personal friends with splendid weapons from the Versailles Arms Factory, very similar to this stunning pair. Such presents could be expensive even for luxury goods: King Charles IV of Spain, an ally of France and a dedicated huntsman, received a set of nine guns, also a pair of duelling pistols which cost 130,000 francs (which was the equivalent of 36,000 days of wages for a skilled tradesman in those days, thus approx 12 years pay).

Napoleon and the art of honouring loyalty and bravery

In France, it was customary for the King to award weapons of honour for exceptional service. Awarding royal military honours was stopped with the abolition of the monarchy in 1792, but reinstated a couple of years later by Napoleon, then Commander-in-chief.
Napoleon first awarded arms of honour for individual acts of bravery during the Italian campaign of 1796-1797, and he decided to increase doing so in an order from 28 August 1797. The distribution of weapons of honour was made official by the Consulate in an order from 25. December. Napoleon regulated which ranks received what kind of arms: officers received pistols, grenadiers and the line infantry received rifles or sabres, and the cavalry troops received rifles, too.

The gifts Napoleon made to military heroes and statesmen were also admired by the British. While usually not being present with them, they bought or took them from Napoleon’s fallen allies that were defeated in the war or went into exile. The 1st Marquess Wellesley, Brother to Arthur Wellesley, presented George, The Prince of Wales, in May 1810 with a pair of flintlock rifled pistols. Its barrel was inlaid with gold ornaments. It is part of the Royal Collection Trust

practices and rituals were codified in the Code Duello of 1777 which set forth rules describing all aspects of an "affair of honour," from the time of day during which challenges could be received to the number of shots or wounds required for satisfaction of honour. For gentlemen the law "offered no redress for insults" he might be subject to from rivals and enemies. Shooting a fellow officer in a duel "gave a sharp edge to one's reputation, earned congratulations in the regimental mess, and brought admiring glances from the ladies. Higher military authorities regarded duelling as a proof test of courage" Although theoretically banned by British Army regulations, refusing a challenge was likely to result in an officer having to leave his regiment, for the same rules that banned duelling forbade an officer from submitting to "opprobrious expressions" or "any conduct from another that should degrade him, or, in the smallest way impeach his courage." To decline a challenge was often equated to defeat by forfeiture, and was sometimes even regarded as dishonourable. Prominent and famous individuals ran an especial risk of being challenged for duels.
Among the most famous duels are the American Burr-Hamilton duel, in which notable Federalist Alexander Hamilton was fatally wounded, and the duel between Duke of Wellington and the 10th Earl of Winchilsea, wherein each participant intentionally missed the other. In New Orleans in 1817 wealthy Creole Bernard de Marigny challenged American blacksmith James Humble to a duel. Humble at nearly seven feet tall had the advantage of size but had never so much as handled a weapon before, and Marigny was only five-nine but a deadly fighter. But by tradition, Humble, as the challenged party, had choice of weapons and location. His choice: the duel would be fought with blacksmith hammers standing in six feet of water in Lake Pontchartrain. Marigny immediately declared that he could not possibly harm a man with such a sense of humour and invited Humble home for dinner. Some were fought over matters of great import, such as Whig leader George Tierney's challenge to William Pitt, after the prime minister accused him of a lack of patriotism; while at the other extreme, in 1721, two Irishmen fought over the correct spelling of a Greek word. Natchez, Mississippi: September 20, 1827: Formidable frontier knife fighter Jim Bowie was shot twice, stabbed "many" times, and had a sword impaled in his chest but still managed to stand, fight, and kill in a gentlemen's duel gone dreadfully wrong.

Since duelling is illegal in Mississippi, it all happened on a sandbar on the Louisiana side of the Mississippi River just west of here, yesterday. Samuel Wells of Natchez faced Louisiana doctor Thomas Maddox in a pistol duel. Each man had a large contingency of witnesses. Both men were allowed two shots at each other. Both missed. So, the actual duel ended with a laugh, with a handshake and with the opening of a bottle of wine, celebrating the duellers new found friendship.

Bowie was Wells second in the duel, and Judge R.A. Crane from Louisiana was Dr. Maddox's second.

As the wine flowed so, suddenly, did the anger, not between the duellists but between the two seconds, Jim Bowie and Judge Crane.

Crane pulled a pistol and fired twice. A bullet punctured Bowie's thigh. He went down. The second bullet hit Bowie's friend Dr. Samuel Cuney, who was there just to witness the duel. He slumped to his knees, then toppled face first to the sand? dead.

Brawling bloody bedlam began. Friends of each dueler became mortal enemies. Bullets whined through gun smoke, and knife blades slashed in the sun.

Major Norris Wright, a banker from Alexandria who hated Jim Bowie and had tried to kill him before, took the opportunity to unsheathe his cane sword and impale Bowie in the chest as Bowie lay wounded on the ground. With the sword still sticking in his chest, Bowie grabbed Wright's coattails and pulled Wright toward him on the ground, slashing Wright's mid-section back and forth with his big, curved knife, killing him instantly.

Witnesses say Bowie then stood up with the sword wobbling in his chest, a bullet in his thigh, and a knife wound gaping in his side, as attackers continued to stab him and shoot at him.

When the attacks stopped, either through fear or fatigue, two men lay dead; two more men tried to patch serious wounds; and the others wiped blood with torn shirts from their grazes and gashes.

As smoke cleared, the dead and wounded were taken by boat across the river to Natchez for civilised burial and modern medical treatment. Sometimes, however, duels were fought for political reasons. In 1798, the Prime Minister of England, William Pitt, accused George Tierney, an opposition politician, of desiring to obstruct the defence of England. Tierney demanded that Pitt withdraw the accusation; Pitt refused. Tierney challenged him to a duel, and the two met near London. The first set of shots went wild, and Pitt fired his second shot into the air, thereby vindicating honour. As with all our antique guns no license is required as they are all unrestricted antique collectables 1cm of one sideplate lacking to one reverse side of one pistol. Mechanically, both pistols are very fine indeed, of top quality craftsmanship, with fine crisp actions. 245mm barrels, overall 370mm long  read more

Code: 22574