Antique Arms & Militaria

A Superb, Really Rare, French, Napoleonic Short Sea Service Boarding Pistol. The Pistolet De Bord Maritime, Modele 1786, Manufacture Nationale De Tulle Circa 1792

Used in the French navy during the Battles of the Nile and Trafalgar. Very good, tight and crisp action. Likely a war trophy of Trafalgar. French sea service pistols are far more rare than their British equivalents, due to the fact there were fewer French ships, and that so many French ships-of-the-line being captured or sunk by the British Royal Navy, between the 1790's to 1805 Such as when the French Fleet was soundly thrashed in the Egypt campaign at the Nile in 1798, and a little later the French and Spanish fleet, in 1805, were once again soundly thrashed and captured by Admiral Nelson at Cape Trafalgar.

The Battle of the Nile, was a battle that was one of the greatest victories of the British admiral Horatio Nelson. It was fought on August 1, 1798, between the British and French fleets in Abū Qīr Bay, near Alexandria, Egypt.

The French Revolutionary general Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 made planned for an invasion of Egypt in order to constrict Britain’s trade routes and threaten its possession of India. The British government heard that a large French naval expedition was to sail from a French Mediterranean port under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte

Determined to find the French fleet, he sailed to Egypt once more, and on August 1 1798 he sighted the main French fleet of 13 ships of the line and 4 frigates under Admiral François-Paul Brueys d’Aigailliers at anchor in Abū Qīr Bay.

Although there were but a few hours left until nightfall and Brueys’s ships were in a strong defensive position, being securely ranged in a sandy bay that was flanked on one side by a shore battery on Abū Qīr Island, Nelson gave orders to attack at once. Several of the British warships were able to maneuver around the head of the French line of battle and thus got inside and behind their position. Fierce fighting ensued, during which Nelson himself was wounded in the head. The climax came at about 10:00 PM, when Brueys’s 120-gun flagship, L’Orient, which was by far the largest ship in the bay, blew up with most of the ship’s company, including the admiral. The fighting continued for the rest of the night; just two of Brueys’s ships of the line and a pair of French frigates escaped destruction or capture by the British. The British suffered about 900 casualties, the French about 9,000.

The Battle of the Nile had several important effects. It isolated Napoleon’s army in Egypt, thus ensuring its ultimate disintegration. It ensured that in due time Malta would be retaken from the French, and it both heightened British prestige and secured British control of the Mediterranean.

The Battle of Trafalgar, (October 21, 1805), was a naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, which established British naval supremacy for more than 100 years; it was fought west of Cape Trafalgar, Spain, between Cádiz and the Strait of Gibraltar. A fleet of 33 ships (18 French and 15 Spanish) under Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve fought a British fleet of 27 ships under Admiral Horatio Nelson.

Nelson was outnumbered, with 27 British ships of the line to 33 allied ships including the largest warship in either fleet, the Spanish Santísima Trinidad. To address this imbalance, Nelson sailed his fleet directly at the allied battle line's flank, hoping to break the line into pieces. Villeneuve had worried that Nelson might attempt this tactic but, for various reasons, had made no plans for this eventuality. The plan worked almost perfectly; Nelson's columns split the Franco-Spanish fleet in three, isolating the rear half from Villeneuve's flag aboard Bucentaure. The allied vanguard sailed off while it attempted to turn around, giving the British temporary superiority over the remainder of their fleet. In the ensuing fierce battle 20 allied ships were lost, while the British lost none.

Nelson's own HMS Victory led the front column and was almost knocked out of action. Nelson was shot by a French musketeer during the battle, and died shortly before it ended. Villeneuve was captured along with his flagship Bucentaure. He attended Nelson's funeral while a captive on parole in Britain. The senior Spanish fleet officer, Admiral Federico Gravina, escaped with the remnant of the Franco-Spanish fleet (a third of the original number of ships); he died five months later of wounds sustained during the battle.

The victory confirmed the naval supremacy Britain had established during the course of the eighteenth century, and was achieved in part through Nelson's departure from prevailing naval tactical orthodoxy. The belt hook was removed in its working life. Belt hook screw mount still remains in place  read more

Code: 25204

A Most Fine King George IIIrd Boxlock Flintlock By Bolton of London, Named for its Owner William Seal of Amington

effectively with built-in provenance. Made by John H Bolton, London and inscribed to its owner on the barrel. The pistol has excellent original finish and has just returned from a 'no expense spared' gunsmith service and the action is now as crisp as you could wish. Concealed trigger and sliding safety, Tower of London proved barrel, turn off barrel for breech loading. Super walnut grip. Unlike most firearms which have the hammer located off to the side of the pistol, a boxlock pistol had the hammer located directly on top of the pistol. They were called a boxlocks because all of the working mechanisms for the hammer and the trigger was located in a box or receiver directly below the top mounted hammer. While the hammer obstructed the aim of the user, this system had the advantage of making the gun more compact and concealable than other pistols. The first boxlock pistols were flintlock and where later made in percussion lock. Unlike modern firearms, these pistols were not mass produced, but were hand made in gunsmith's workshops. As with all our antique guns no license is required as they are all unrestricted antique collectables. Shown for illustration purposes only with a typical powder flask, as it would once have used  read more

Code: 23548

A Rare & Beautiful French, Napoleonic Wars Era Silver Mounted Sword a 'Sabre d'Officier Superieur a Monture a L'Orientale, With French Napoleonic Blade Inscription, Circa 1801

A sword of the French Napoleonic era, a 'Sabre d'Officier Superieur a Monture a L'Orientale'. A delightful Napoleonic wars sword, from the early 19th century, with rare all silver mounts, designed from the work on swords from the Mamelukes, that fought against, and then latterly for, Napoleon at the Battle of The Nile in the late 1790’s.
When Napoleon returned from the his Egypt campaign the Ancient Egyptian style became all the rage in Paris, and indeed London. Influencing everything from furniture, to object d’art. And the Mameluke’s style of weaponry made a major influence of sword design for both England and France. So much so, the British General Officer’s Mameluke style sabre is still the current service use sword for generals today, modelled on the swords brought back to London by Nelson after his Egypt campaign. This sword and it distinctive hilt is a French version of Nimcha North African sword style. A style of sword that the Revolutionary French adopted for the official sword of a Representative of the People, from the Le Directoire Period, just before Napoleon's Coup of 18 Brumaire {in November 1799.} after his return from the Battle of The Nile in 1798.

The blade is inscribed Manufacture Nationale, Coulax, this date marking for Coulax was from 1801 to around 1806. It is difficult to interpret the latter part inscription, as it is now partly too worn. It is in the more straight form of an officer of the heavy cavalry rather than an officer the more usual curved light cavalry. Twin parallel fullered blade, with one very narrow, the other wide.

After Napoleon's Egypt Campaign, that ended in 1801, many Napoleonic officer's adopted the so-called oriental mounted swords captured from the Egyptian Marmalukes that eventually became part of Napoleons Imperial Garde. These swords, in their turn, were captured by the British and similarly adopted as a form of highly favoured officers sword. In fact the mamaluke sabre became the British General's pattern sword that is still in use today. Several of these specific swords were part of a Sotheby's Napoleonic Wars auction in Monaco in 1990, titled "Belles Armes Anciennes Casques et Objects Militaires". In 1803, the Mamluks were organized into a company attached to the Chasseurs a Cheval of the Imperial Guard.

Mamluks fought well at Battle of Austerlitz on December 2, 1805 and the regiment was granted a standard.
With the First Restoration, the company of the Mamluks of the Imperial Guard was incorporated into the Corps Royal des Chasseurs de France. The Mamluks of the Young Guard were incorporated in the 7th Chasseurs a Cheval. The Napoleonic period was an extremely complicated time. Moral right and wrong are hard to distinguish: Napoleon was a dictator, but not a particularly evil one. He encouraged many developments we today consider quite positive. The Napoleonic Wars were instigated by France, but each nation fought to protect and expand its own national interest. The wars were punctuated by constantly shifting alliances. Sometimes Prussia fought France, and sometimes it was neutral. Austria, led by the crafty Metternich, tried to improve relations with France towards the end the Napoleonic era. Russia initially opposed Napoleon, then sided with him, and then turned against him again. The only constant through the fifteen years of Napoleon's rule was the continued enmity between England and France. Napoleon was intensely jealous of our successful trade with all Europe and thus instigated a complete scheme to deny trade with Britain throughout Europe.ironically however the two most famous dictators of modern Europe, Napoleon and Hitler, are famously known to have met with the dramatic reversal of their fortunes entirely through invading Russia.

Yet, in both cases, the wealth, resources and stubborn determination of the British played a major role in their eventual downfall. Despite Britain's comparatively small population and territorial base, it alone among European countries was able to fight Napoleon nonstop {except for the short Peace of Amiens from 1802-1803,} Britain was at war with France from 1793-1815, while other states alternated between war, peace, and various alliances with France. As it was with Britain and its Commonwealth, being alone at war with Hitler for the entire war period of 1939 t0 1945. With America and Russia only joining the fight years later, once Hitler declared war on them first.

The sword overall has the usual signs of period age wear and contemporary close combat use, the blade is still partially covered in old storage grease that should remove nicely. Quillon finial lacking to one side.  read more

Code: 20165

A Superb Ancient Greek Dagger Blade 13th to 11th Century B.C. From the Trojan War Era, Acquired With. Full Length Bronze Sword Blade From The Same Era

2nd millennium BC. A bronze dagger with tapering triangular blade and median thickening, curved shoulders, flat, sub-rectangular tang with two tang hilt mount piercings. In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably Homer's Iliad. The core of the Iliad (Books II – XXIII) describes a period of four days and two nights in the tenth year of the decade-long siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid.

The ancient Greeks believed that Troy was located near the Dardanelles and that the Trojan War was a historical event of the 13th or 12th century BC, but by the mid-19th century AD, both the war and the city were widely seen as non-historical. In 1868, however, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann met Frank Calvert, who convinced Schliemann that Troy was a real city at what is now Hisarlik in Turkey. On the basis of excavations conducted by Schliemann and others, this claim is now accepted by most scholars.

Whether there is any historical reality behind the Trojan War remains an open question. Many scholars believe that there is a historical core to the tale, though this may simply mean that the Homeric stories are a fusion of various tales of sieges and expeditions by Mycenaean Greeks during the Bronze Age. Those who believe that the stories of the Trojan War are derived from a specific historical conflict usually date it to the 12th or 11th century BC, often preferring the dates given by Eratosthenes, 1194–1184 BC, which roughly correspond to archaeological evidence of a catastrophic burning of Troy VII, and the Late Bronze Age collapse. Legend has it that the war originated from a quarrel between the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, after Eris, the goddess of strife and discord, gave them a golden apple, sometimes known as the Apple of Discord, marked "for the fairest". Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris of Troy, who judged that Aphrodite, as the "fairest", should receive the apple. In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women and wife of Menelaus of Sparta, fall in love with Paris, who quit Sparta with her and returned to Troy. Menelaus's brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years because of Paris' insult. After the deaths of many heroes, including the Achaeans Achilles and Ajax, and the Trojans Hector and Paris, the city fell to the ruse of the Trojan Horse. The Achaeans slaughtered the Trojans (except for some of the women and children whom they kept or sold as slaves) and desecrated the temples, thus earning the gods' wrath. Few of the Achaeans returned safely to their homes and many founded colonies in distant shores. The Romans later traced their origin to Aeneas, Aphrodite's son and one of the Trojans, who was said to have led the surviving Trojans to modern-day Italy113 grams, 26cm (10 1/4"). From a Japanese collection, 1990s.  read more

Code: 23417

A Yemeni Jambiya A Stunning WW1 Yemeni 'Lawrence of Arabia's' Favoured Pattern of Jambiya

Just returned from over 30 hours of specialist hand conservation to clean and conserve the whole dagger, and a remarkable result has been achieved, but it was simply a labour of love, as it's stored condition was most sad indeed. Likely this intriguing piece was acquired from a souk in Arabia sometime after the war.
Very similar to Lawrence of Arabia's jambiya when he was serving in WW1 in the Turkish Campaign in Arabia. The word jambiya actually means “something worn at one’s right side” (from the triliteral root j-n-b). Lawrence of Arabia had several very similar ones presented to him, they were his favourite dagger, and he was frequently photographed wearing them. One picture is a portrait of Lawrence with his Jambiya, most similar to this example. photo for historical context information only and not included It is made from silver metal, but usually, more often than not, coin silver, certainly not English hallmarked silver. The jambia, a curved Islamic dagger, is the main customary accessory to the clothing worn by Arabian men. For centuries the people of South Arabia have inherited the their jambiahs from generation to generation. There are several theories about the origin of the Jambia. There are historical facts, concerning the existence of the Jambia revealing that it used to be worn at Sheban times, in the Himiarite kingdom. They take the statue of the Sheban king (Madi Karb 500 bc ) as proof. This statue, which was discovered by an American mission in Marib in the 1950s, was found to be wearing a Jambia.

Reference; a Lanes Armoury *Special Conservation* Item, restored and conserved in our workshop, see info page for details on our conservation principles.  read more

Code: 24682

A Beautiful Noble's Early Antique Sinhalese Ceylonese Piha Kaetta Knife Dagger

A most engaging ornate pihas and likely made exclusively by the Pattal Hattara (The Four Workshops). They were employed directly by the Kings of Kandy. Kandy, the independent kingdom, was first established by King Wickramabahu (1357-1374 AD). The last Kandyan king was in the early 1800's, and the workshops are no longer in existence today.The simplest are of plain steel, but very graceful form, with wooden or horn handles, and carried in the belt, to lop off inconvenient branches as one passes through the jungle, or, to open coconuts, or cut jungle ropes. From these knives there are all transitions to the finest versions of nobles and princes, the most elaborate and costly of silver or gold inlaid and overlaid knives worn by the greatest chiefs as a part of their formal dress, and possibly never intended for regular use. The workmanship of many of these is most exquisite but this fine work is done rather by the higher craftsmen, the silversmiths and ivory carvers, than by the mere blacksmith. Many of the best knives were doubtless made in the Four Workshops, such as is this example, the blades being supplied to the silversmith by the blacksmiths.
"The best of the higher craftsmen (gold and silversmiths, painters, and ivory carvers, etc.) working immediately for the king formed a close, largely hereditary, corporation of craftsmen called the Pattal-hatara (Four Workshops). They were named as follows; The Ran Kadu [Golden Arms], the Abarana [Regalia], the Sinhasana [Lion Throne], and the Otunu [Crown] these men worked only for the King, unless by his express permission (though, of course, their sons or pupils might do otherwise); they were liable to be continually engaged in Kandy, while the Kottal-badda men were divided into relays, serving by turns in Kandy for periods of two months. The Kottal-badda men in each district were under a foreman (mul-acariya) belonging to the Pattal-hatara. Four other foremen, one from each pattala, were in constant attendance at the palace.This beautiful noble's dagger is stunningly decorated with veka deka liya vela [double curve vine motif] and the flower motif sina mal, and a bold vine in damascene silver. The blade is traditonal iron and the hilt beautifully carved black coral  read more

Code: 14577

A Stunning Antique 18th Century Indonesian Silver Mounted Kris

Keris Melayu Semenanjong with a serpentine blade with 7 Luk [seven curves or waves]. A very good and rare example of a keris from the southern Malaysian peninsular region of Johor or Selangor. Handle in the jawa demam form. This form of hilt is common in central or southern Sumatra, as well as the Malay peninsular regions. The Minang variant is usually more upright with a more flaring top.
The top sheath in the typical Malay tebeng form, are made from very well selected kemuning woods with flashing grains. Bottom stem is likely made from well selected angsana woods with tiger?s stripe grains. It has a beautifully tooled silver sheath and a plain silver pendoko or ferrule completes the wonderful fittings.
Pamor patterns are arranged in the mlumah technique of the wos utah or scattered rice variations which is said to enhance the owner?s material well being. Traditionally the pamor material for the kris smiths connected with the courts of Yogyakarta and Surakarta originates from an iron meteorite that fell to earth at the end of 18th century in the neighborhood of the Prambanan temple complex. The meteorite was excavated and transported to the keraton of Surakarta; from that time on the smiths of Vorstenlanden (the Royal territories) used small pieces of meteoric iron to produce pamor patterns in their kris, pikes, and other status weapons. After etching the blade with acidic substances, it is the small percentage of nickel present in meteoric iron that creates the distinctive silvery patterns that faintly light up against the dark background of iron or steel that become darkened by the effect of the acids.  read more

Code: 22608

A Fabulous Javanese Kris With Pure Gold Snake God Symbol Onlaid on to The Fabulous Pamor Serpentine Blade

Probably 19th to early 20th century. In an esteemed London auction house, a most similar quality gold inlaid example, of the same age, sold three Decembers ago for just over £5,400 [inc commission]. This is simply one of the most beautiful we have seen on the market in over 20 years. A sarpa lumarka wavy blade with a gold naga [snake] in sangkelat [13 waves, or lok]. Ladrang form of wrangka hilt crosspiece [boat form] of a simply stunningly grained wood, which may well be Javan pelet, with a fine gilt metal sleeve covering the haft, with a most intricate and detailed pieced design on the obverse side. In Java, the metal sleeve is called pendokbunton, which is a full metal sleeve. The keris is considered a magical weapon, filled with great spiritual power. In Javanese there is a term "Tosan Aji" or "Magic Metal" used to describe the keris. The keris is replete with the totems of Malay-Indonesian culture of hindu and islam. The blade is a mixture of meteoric steel and nickel According to traditional Javanese kejawen, kris contain all the intrinsic elements of nature: tirta (water), bayu (wind), agni (fire), bantolo (earth, but also interpreted as metal or wood which both come from the earth), and aku (lit: "I" or "me", meaning that the kris has a spirit or soul). All these elements are present during the forging of kris. Earth is metal forged by fire being blown by pumped wind, and water to cool down the metal. In Bali, the kris is associated with the naga or dragon, which also symbolizes irrigation canals, rivers, springs, wells, spouts, waterfalls and rainbows; thus, the wavy blade symbolizes the movement of the serpent. Some kris have a naga or serpent head carved near the base with the body and tail following the curves of the blade to the tip. A wavy kris is thus a naga in motion, aggressive and alive; a straight blade is one at rest, its power dormant but ready to come into action.

In former times, kris blades were said to be infused with poison during their forging, ensuring that any injury was fatal. The process of doing so was kept secret among smiths. Different types of whetstones, acidic juice of citrus fruits and poisonous arsenic bring out the contrast between the dark black iron and the light coloured silvery nickel layers which together form pamor, damascene patterns on the blade. The distinctive pamor patterns have specific meanings and names which indicate the special magical properties they are believed to impart  read more

Code: 22745

A Quite Rare Danish M1889 Krag-Jorgensen Knife Bayonet, Early Model by Weyersberg

Single-fullered spear point blade, forged together with the entire hilt as one piece of steel. Chequered black leather grips secured by two steel rivets. Black leather scabbard with steel mounts at the throat and chape. Unique locking mechanism, consisting of an integral locking catch on the scabbard, and sprung release lever on the hilt.

The ricasso of the blade is stamped with a ‘king’s head’ and ‘knight’s helm’ marks, over ‘W. K & C’, which stands for the maker Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Co. of Solingen, Germany. Below this on the rim of the grip is stamped a crown over ‘91’, which means this bayonet was produced in 1891.

The pommel is stamped on one side with a unit mark ‘. to the th Battalion, over a cancelled unit mark ‘B ’ to the th Battalion, and on the other side with the item number ‘’. The chape finial of the scabbard is stamped ‘B’ to the rd Battalion and on the other side with ‘’.

The leather grips mark this out as the early version of this bayonet, which was made in Germany. The later and more common version was introduced in 1892: made in Denmark, it had wooden grips, which held up better to heavy use and wet conditions. Those bayonets of the early model whose grips wore out also received wooden replacements. The Danes were the first nation to adopt the Norwegian-designed Krag-Jorgensen rifle, followed by the United States and Norway. The blade is superbly bright The hilt and pommel have light, even patination. The leather grips have some light handling wear to the chequering. overall in great condition for age.  read more

Code: 25180

19th Century, Antique, Mandingo Mandinka Chief's Slave and Gold Trader's Sword With Tattooed-Leather Covered Wooden Scabbard

A most scarce and original African slave and gold trader chieftain's sword

The Manding (Mandingo) are West African people. Their traditional slaver's sword comprises a sabre like blade, a guardless leather grip and wide expanded scabbard with exquisite tattooed leather work.
This example is a fine example of very nice quality and most finely tattooed.

It has a 16 inches long curved blade, leather grip and leather scabbard with leaf shaped widening tip, entirely tooled tattooed and decorated. Of special interest is the finely bound and decorated leather work. These weapons are well known for their rare leather-work and the tattooing applied to the leather of the scabbards. The iron work skills are of black-smith quality.

Slave raiding, capture and trading in the Mandinka regions existed in significant numbers long before the European colonial era, as is evidenced in the memoirs of the 14th century Moroccan traveller and Islamic historian Ibn Battuta. Slaves were part of the socially stratified Mandinka people, and several Mandinka language words, such as Jong or Jongo refer to slaves. There were fourteen Mandinke kingdoms along the Gambia River in the Senegambia region during the early 19th century, for example, where slaves were a part of the social strata in all these kingdoms.

Scholars have offered several theories on the source of the transatlantic slave trade of Mandinka people. According to Boubacar Barry, a professor of History and African Studies, chronic violence between ethnic groups such as Mandinka people and their neighbours, combined with weapons sold by slave traders and lucrative income from slave ships to the slave sellers, fed the practice of captives, raiding, manhunts, and slaves. The victimised ethnic group felt justified in retaliating. Slavery was already an accepted practice before the 15th century. As the demand grew, states Barry, Futa Jallon led by an Islamic military theocracy became one of the centres of this slavery-perpetuating violence, while Farim of Kaabu (the commander of Mandinka people in Kaabu) energetically hunted slaves on a large scale. Martin Klein (a professor of African Studies) states that Kaabu was one of the early suppliers of African slaves to European merchants

Many blades were taken by the Mandingo and fitted from European weapons, such as sabres and short cutlasses. .

In general, these remain primarily considered Mandingo weapons, and from regions in Mali. These were of course invariably mounted with European sabre blades. Mandingo Tribe (also known as the Mandinka, Mande, or the Malinke Tribes) were the traders of the African West Coast, trading primarily in gold and slaves.
In 1324, Mansa Musa who ruled Mali, went on Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca with a caravan carrying gold. Shihab al-Umari, the Arabic historian, described his visit and stated that Musa built mosques in his kingdom, established Islamic prayers and took back Maliki school of Sunni jurists with him. According to Richard Turner – a professor of African American Religious History, Musa was highly influential in attracting North African and Middle Eastern Muslims to West Africa

Picture in the gallery of a Mandingo Slave Trader Chieftain, standing next to his boy sword bearer, carrying his very same form of 'tattooed' sword. One, from an original collection of weapons we recently acquired.

Overall the leather on this sword in in exceptional condition and beautifully decorated.

Early medeavil painting in the gallery of Mansa Musa's visit to Mecca in 1324 CE with large amounts of gold, that not unsurprisingly attracted many Middle Eastern Muslims and Europeans to Mali.  read more

Code: 17969