Antique Arms & Militaria

A King George IVth Police Tipstaff The Very First Truncheon Issued To Metropolitan Police In The Year of Formation in 1829.

With areas of painted finish lacking. Traditional of uppermost cylindrical form with a turned grip.

The 18th century had been a rough and disorderly age, with mob violence, violent crimes, highwaymen, smugglers and the new temptations to disorder brought about by the Industrial Revolution.

Clearly something had to be done.
In 1829 the Metropolitan Police Force, organised by Sir Robert Peel, was established to keep the order in London.
The force, under a Commissioner of the Police with headquarters at Scotland Yard, was essentially a civilian one: its members were armed only with wooden truncheons and at first wore top-hats and blue frock-coats. The "Peelers" or "Bobbies" were greeted largely with derision by Londoners, but they did become accepted fairly quickly. Their primary purpose, in those days, was to prevent crime, and some London criminals left their haunting grounds of London for the larger provincial towns, which in turn established their own forces on the Metropolitan model. The pattern followed through to the small villages and countryside. To secure co-operation between the spreading network and establish further forces,

Parliament passed an act in 1856 to co-ordinate the work of the various forces and gave the Home Secretary the power to inspect them. In the counties, under the Police Act of 1890, the police became the combined responsibility of the local authorities - the County Councils - and the Justice of the Peace, while in London, the Metropolitan Police at Scotland Yard remained under the Commissioner appointed by the Home Office. At the turn of the century, the British police force established a reputation for humane and kindly efficiency.
Their mere existence undoubtedly did a lot to prevent crime, and they built up what was on the whole a highly effective system of investigation and arrest, that lasted for just over 120 years. However, as Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, expressing the idea of impermanence around 500 BC once remarked
"Nothing is permanent except change".  read more

Code: 16913

South American 19th Century Brazilian ‘Faca De Ponta’ Fighting Knife Rare Antique Brazilian Cangaceiros Faca De Ponta Lampiao Bandit Dagger Knife.

Intersperced discs of carved bone and horn handle. Good maker mark logo of a prancing pony. Although made earlier they are now called after the early 20th century bandit leader. Lampiao became associated with an established bandit leader, Sebastiao Pereira. After only a few months of operating together, in 1922, Pereira decided to retire from banditry; he moved to the State of Goias and lived there peacefully into advanced old age. Lampiao then took over leadership of the remnants of Pereira's band. For the next 16 years, he led his band of cangaceiros, which varied greatly in number from around a dozen to up to a hundred, in a career of large-scale banditry through seven states of the Brazilian Northeast.

Depending on the terrain and other conditions, the bandits operated either on horseback or on foot. They were heavily armed, and wore leather outfits, including hats, jackets, sandals, ammunition belts, and trousers, to protect them from the thorns of the caatinga, the dry shrub and brushwood typical of the dry hinterland of Brazil's Northeast. The police and soldiers stationed in the backlands often dressed in an identical manner; on more than one occasion Lampiao impersonated a police officer, especially when moving into a new area of operations, in order to gain information.

The firearms and ammunition of the cangaceiros were mostly stolen, or acquired by bribery, from the police and paramilitary units and consisted of Mauser military rifles and a variety of small arms including Winchester rifles, revolvers and the prized Luger and Mauser semi-automatic pistols.

A strange and contradictory piety ran through Lampiao's psyche: while robbing and killing people, he also prayed regularly and reverenced the Church and priests. He wore many religious symbols on his person; presumably, he invested them with talismanic qualities. Like many others in the region he particularly revered Padre Cicero, the charismatic priest of Juazeiro. He was noted for his loyalty to those he befriended or to whom he owed a debt of gratitude. He generously rewarded his followers and those of the population who shielded or materially helped him (coiteros), and he was entirely reliable if he gave his word of honour. Lampiao was capable of acts of mercy and even charity, however, he systematically used terror to achieve his own survival. His enmity, once aroused, was implacable and he killed many people merely because they had an association with someone who had displeased him. He is recorded as having said "If you have to kill, kill quickly. But for me killing a thousand is just like killing one". For the cangaceiros murder was not only casual, they took pride in their efficiency in killing. They were excellent shots and were skilled in the use of long, narrow knives (nicknamed peixeiras - "fish-filleters") which could be used to dispatch a man quickly.

Lampiao's band attacked small towns and farms in seven states, took hostages for ransom, extorted money by threats of violence, tortured, fire-branded, and maimed; it has been claimed that they killed over 1,000 people and 5,000 head of cattle and raped over 200 women. The band fought the police over 200 times and Lampiao was wounded six times. 11 inches long overall
No scabbard  read more

Code: 20875

Very Fine & Beautiful, Victorian, ‘Scottish’ Officer's Sword of Presentation Grade, 29th Lanarkshire Regt. Volunteers. Presented By His Company to Captain Hincksman in 1875.Identical to The Sword Used by Lt Bromhead at Rorke's Drift

The 29th Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers were created in February 1860 in Coatbridge. The corps absorbed several other Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteer companies before becoming the 7th Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteer Corps in June 1880. The following year this became part of the Cameronian (Scottish Rifles) as part of the army reforms of that year.

Just returned from over 20 hours of expert hand polishing and conservation in the workshop to return it to as close to how it was when presented to Capt. Hincksman in 1875. It now look breathtaking. It also still has its original patent leather inner half basket lining, This was stitched in but had to be removed to enable conservation and photographed seperate. It has now been re-stitched back in place, and we have photographed it accordingly. It’s finest grade mercurial gilt finish hilt has over 95% of all of it original mint bright gilt finish remaining.

An absolute beauty of an original historical sword. Overall in superb condition. A sword that would compliment any form of background decor. Exactly the form of sword used by Lt Bromhead in the Zulu war, as was portrayed and carried in the film 'Zulu' by Sir Michael Caine. One may find it impossible indeed to see another as fine and beautiful and as original as this sword. With its original, mirror bright polished and counter-frosted ground, bespoke fully etched blade, bearing the cypher and crest of H.M. Queen Victoria, and named and dated presentation panels.
Gothic pieced half basket hilt, combined, combat-dress scabbard, fine wire bound sharkskin grip.

Photo in the gallery from the film "Zulu" and Michael Caine as Bromhead with his sword for information only not included.
The 1822/45 pattern of sword has a Gothic hilt and Queen Victoria's cypher within the pierced oval centre. This sabre would have seen service by an officer at the very cusp of England's Glory of Empire. A sabre fit to represent the age and used throughout the Zulu War and numerous other great and famous conflicts of the Victorian era. The 1822 pattern infantry with it's elegant pierced Gothic style hilt, and the graceful monogram of Queen Victoria make it one of the most attractive patterns of sword ever used by British Army officers, and it was a pattern that saw service for almost 80 years. The blade is by Henry Wilkinson, who developed in 1845 pattern blade. Many swords of British officers were continually used for many decades, until the 1890's in fact, as swords were quite often passed on from father to son, down the generations, in many military families. During the period of this sword's use, two of most famous pair of engagements in the British army's history, during the last quarter of the 19th century, happened over two consecutive days. Curiously, it is fair to say that these two engagements, by the 24th Foot, against the mighty Zulu Impi, are iconic examples of how successful or unsuccessful leadership can result, in either the very best conclusion, or the very worst. And amazingly, within only one day of each other. The 1879 Zulu War, for the 24th Foot, will, for many, only mean two significant events, Isandlhwana and Rorke's Drift. This is the brief story of the 24th Foot in South Africa; In 1875 the 1st Battalion arrived in Southern Africa and subsequently saw service, along with the 2nd Battalion, in the 9th Xhosa War in 1878. In 1879 both battalions took part in the Zulu War, begun after a British invasion of Zululand, ruled by Cetshwayo. The 24th Foot took part in the crossing of the Buffalo River on 11 January, entering Zululand. The first engagement (and the most disastrous for the British) came at Isandhlwana. The British had pitched camp at Isandhlwana and not established any fortifications due to the sheer size of the force, the hard ground and a shortage of entrenching tools. The 24th Foot provided most of the British force and when the overall commander, Lord Chelmsford, split his forces on 22 January to search for the Zulus, the 1st Battalion (5 companies) and a company of the 2nd Battalion were left behind to guard the camp, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Pulleine (CO of the 1/24th Foot).

The Zulus, 22,000 strong, attacked the camp and their sheer numbers overwhelmed the British. As the officers paced their men far too far apart to face the coming onslaught. During the battle Lieutenant-Colonel Pulleine ordered Lieutenants Coghill and Melvill to save the Queen's Colour—the Regimental Colour was located at Helpmakaar with G Company. The two Lieutenants attempted to escape by crossing the Buffalo River where the Colour fell and was lost downstream, later being recovered. Both officers were killed. At this time the Victoria Cross (VC) was not awarded posthumously. This changed in the early 1900s when both Lieutenants were awarded posthumous Victoria Crosses for their bravery. The 2nd Battalion lost both its Colours at Isandhlwana though parts of the Colours—the crown, the pike and a colour case—were retrieved and trooped when the battalion was presented with new Colours in 1880.

The 24th had performed with distinction during the battle. The last survivors made their way to the foot of a mountain where they fought until they expended all their ammunition and were killed. The 24th Foot suffered 540 dead, including the 1st Battalion's commanding officer.

After the battle, some 4,000 to 5,000 Zulus headed for Rorke's Drift, a small missionary post garrisoned by a company of the 2/24th Foot, native levies and others under the command of Lieutenant Chard, Royal Engineers, the most senior officer of the 24th present being Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead. Two Boer cavalry officers, Lieutenants Adendorff and Vane, arrived to inform the garrison of the defeat at Isandhlwana. The Acting Assistant Commissary James Langley Dalton persuaded Bromhead and Chard to stay and the small garrison frantically prepared rudimentary fortifications.

The Zulus first attacked at 4:30 pm. Throughout the day the garrison was attacked from all sides, including rifle fire from the heights above the garrison, and bitter hand-to-hand fighting often ensued. At one point the Zulus entered the hospital, which was stoutly defended by the wounded inside until it was set alight and eventually burnt down. The battle raged on into the early hours of 23 January but by dawn the Zulu Army had withdrawn. Lord Chelmsford and a column of British troops arrived soon afterwards. The garrison had suffered 15 killed during the battle (two died later) and 11 defenders were awarded the Victoria Cross for their distinguished defense of the post, 7 going to soldiers of the 24th Foot.

The stand at Rorke's Drift was immortalised in the 1964 movie 'Zulu', and Sir Michael Caine is carrying this very same pattern of sword.

Overall in excellent plus condition. Very nice and snug fit to the very brightly polished scabbard, with all its original wood liner present. The combat scabbard its the only part of the sword that bears any natural age wear with traces of old light surface pitting {now hand polished out}  read more

Code: 25848

A Rare, Original, Ancient Viking Iron Battle Hammer-Axe. Around 1100 to 1200 Years Old. Almost Every Viking Warrior Used the Axe or Spear As Their Primary Combat Weapon. Swords Were the Prerogative of Kings or Earls {Jarls} A South West England Find

An original English Viking site find in the 1870's, but not recorded as to where in the South West of England {likely Somerset} it was actually recovered.

In 836 King Egbert of led an army to Carhampton in West Somerset against a Viking army from 35 landed long-ships, in the ensuing battle the King Egbert’s army was defeated and withdrew, leaving the Vikings to raid and plunder all the surrounding countryside. The suffering of the Anglo Saxon peasantry was terrible and lasted for many decades. It wasn't until 878 that an army under King Alfred fought and defeated Viking King Guthrum's army at Edlington in Wiltshire and they fled. It wasn't until 914 that the vikings returned once more to Somerest but they were once again defeated.

Renown scholar Alcuin of York was back at Charlemagne's court by at least mid-792, writing a series of letters, regarding the brutal Viking raid at Lindisfarne, to Æthelred, to Hygbald, Bishop of Lindisfarne, and to Æthelhard, Archbishop of Canterbury in the succeeding months, dealing with the Viking attack on Lindisfarne in July 793. These letters and Alcuin's poem on the subject, "De clade Lindisfarnensis monasterii", provide the only significant contemporary account of these events. In his description of the Viking attack, he wrote: "Never before has such terror appeared in Britain. Behold the church of St Cuthbert, splattered with the blood of God's priests, robbed of its ornaments.

The Vikings began arriving en masse with armies intent on conquest. These armies were led by Ivar the Boneless, Halfdan, and Ubba, three of the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok, who had been killed by the Northumbrian King Ælla. The first English city to fall to the invaders was York, conquered in 866. The Northumbrians tried in vain to retake the city, and King Ælla was killed in the process. One-by-one, other Saxon realms capitulated until virtually all of north and eastern England was under the direct control of the Danes.

At this point, the strongest Anglo-Saxon kingdom was Wessex, and upon the death of its king Æthelred, Alfred succeeded the throne and took the fight to the Vikings in England, who had begun annexing huge chunks of Mercia, an ally of Wessex. Alfred’s initial campaign against the Vikings was, however, a complete failure. Anglo-Saxon military tactics and defenses were incapable of dealing with Viking raids, and Alfred was eventually forced into hiding in the Somerset Marshes. The Vikings in England had succeeded in opening up the whole of Anglo-Saxon England to their mercy.
In 878, King Alfred came out of hiding and met with the lords still loyal to his cause. During his time in the Somerset Marshes, he had carefully planned a major counter-offensive against the Danish Viking army under Guthrum. Alfred’s campaign was successful, and Guthrum’s army was beaten, first in the field at Edington and then starved into submission at Chippenham. Several years later, a boundary was established, dividing England in two, with one half under Anglo-Saxon control and the other half, known as the Danelaw, under the control of the Vikings.

King Alfred organized better defenses, as well as a powerful free-standing army better equipped to deal with Viking tactics. As a result, subsequent raids and a major invasion attempt were thwarted. The Vikings who were part of this invasion attempt either ended up settling in Danelaw or sailing to Normandy and settling there.
Beyer, Greg. "The Vikings in England (Or were they Danes?)" TheCollector.com, March 11, 2023, https://www.thecollector.com/danes-or-vikings-in-england/

Title page of a late manuscript of the Prose Edda written by Snorri Sturluson (13th century), showing the Ancient Norse Gods Odin, Heimdallr, Sleipnir, and other figures from Norse mythology, plus the legendary axe hammer.

The Tjängvide image stone with illustrations from Norse mythology
By Berig - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3682858
Showing axe hammers in combat and a Viking longship read more

5 3/4 inches x 2.1/4 inches x 2 inches at the socket width.  read more

Code: 25845

A Superb, Heavy Grade, Original Viking 'Bearded' Battle Axe, Around 1000 Years Old. Almost Every Viking Warrior Used the Axe or Spear As Their Main & Primary Combat Weapon. Swords Were the Prerogative of Kings and Earls {Jarls}

Viking battle axehead 9th-12th century AD.

An iron axehead with triangular socket, narrow blade with curved edge with beard section.

One of the most famous Viking axes is Hel (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 a 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.

Almost every iron weapon, sword, axe, spear, or helmet, that has survived till today, from this ancient era is now in a fully russetted surface condition, as is this one, because only the very few swords of ancient kings, that have been preserved in national or Royal collections, are today still in a fair state of preservation and with smooth surface condition.

For a near identical example one was recovered in a Hillfort about 500 miles South East of Stockholm, now in a Museum in Latvia . See photo 10 in the gallery.

7 1/4 inches x 3 1/2 inches x 1 1/2 at socket  read more

Code: 25838

An Exceptional 1700 to 1600 Year Old Spartha Sword of A Warrior of the Roman Empire's Invasions by the Huns and Visigoths. A Hun or Visigoth Horseman's Sword Spartha With Its Orinally Mounted ‘Lifstein’, the Magical Life-Stone, and Original Crossguard

A rarest of the very rare, a fabulous museum quality example of an original spartha sword, used by both the Visigoth and Hun pagan horsemen, modelled on the Germanic Roman spartha during the battles in the invasions of the Roman Empire's territory by the Visigoths and Atilla the Hun, leading to the Sack of Rome and beyond, in fact, eventually to the fall of Rome, and the Western Roman Empire itself.

A long double edged horseman’s sword with lentoid section blade with its rhomboid crossguard still present, it is overall russetted as is always the case with swords of such great age, yet it is in superb condition for a sword of this period, and it was recovered originally, and most remarkably, with its magical, pagan ‘life stone’ intact. The large bead, Lifstein or life-stone, is likely polished white chalcedony, and these legendary large beads are called life-stones, since they were believed to have magical properties for the swordsman, and thus be able to heal wounds and keep a wounded warrior alive. They were attached to the scabbards on this Migration Period example, although some were possibly attached to the hilt.

To find one of these incredibly historical swords with its original, excavated Life-Stone {aka Lifstein} present and together still is simply amazing. The grip and pommel that were once part of this sword would have been the usual organic material, such as ivory, bone, horn or wood, and thus they always naturally rot and crumble into dust, in likely just a few hundred years or so, after it was concealed or buried. Only precious gold, silver, or metal sword mounts could survive the millennia, but the spartha would never usually have metal grips or pommels. Only the most wealthy and superior warriors could possibly afford or even bother to adorn their sword hilts with gold and the like, such as Hunnish clan chiefs or kings. Such as has the same form of sword in Alamannenmuseum Ellwangen, in Germany. { See the gallery photo}

This sword itself was likely worn by the horseman using the belt suspension method, with its ‘Life stone’ mounted tied, with a stout cord of some kind, attached to its scabbard, although the sagas don't really specifically say, although one example is in Kormak's Saga 9th C. where it's stated

"Bersi had a sharp sword called Hviting, with a Lifstein (life stone) attached to it, which he carried in many dangers."

It doesn't specifically say if it was attached to his hilt or scabbard.
Hrolf Kraki's sword Skofnung is also said to possess a life-stone, but it is supposedly set into the hilt. Perhaps like the garnet inlaid hilts of the recovered swords of the Migration Period

This hint at a likely Hunnish origin for this actual type of horsemen's sword is supported by an early literary source, that specifically points out that the Huns wore two matching swords, a long double-edged sword, just as this example, carried at the left side of the warrior, and a single-edged short sword at the right.
This literary source is the oldest preserved epic of the Nibelungen cycle, Waltharius, also known as the Waltharilied, or the Lay of Walther and Hildegund, composed in Latin after lost German prototypes by a monk of St. Gall, Switzerland, during the tenth century.
In this heroic epic is the history of Walther of Aquitaine, a Visigothic prince, and Hildegund, a Burgundian princess.

“Though hostages, Walther and Hildegund were entrusted to the army, and in command was a general, and for a time even, commander-in-chief of the Hunnish forces.”
This is another gem of trustworthy historical information, since this putting of a hostage into a responsible position was exactly according to Hunnish custom. It continues;
“With them was Hagen, a noble youth of the royal house of the Rhenish Franks, they are hostages at the court of King Etzel of the Huns, the Attila of history. Hagen manages to flee, and Walther and Hildegund, his betrothed from childhood, escape soon afterward. In preparing for the flight Walther arms himself in Hunnish fashion-
"pro ritu Panoniarum"-with a double-edged long sword, spatha, belted to his left hip-"et laevum femur ancipiti praecinxerat ense"
-and a single-edged half-sword, semispatha, at his right-
"atque alio dextrum, pro ritu Panoniarum; Is tamen ex una dat vulnera parte."

The Sack of Rome on 24 August 410 AD was undertaken by the Visigoths led by their king, Alaric. At that time, Rome was no longer the capital of the Western Roman Empire, having been replaced in that position first by Mediolanum (now Milan) in 286 and then by Ravenna in 402. Nevertheless, the city of Rome retained a paramount position as "the eternal city" and a spiritual center of the Empire. This was the first time in almost 800 years that Rome had fallen to a foreign enemy, and the sack was a major shock to contemporaries, friends and foes of the Empire alike.

The sacking of 410 is seen as a major landmark in the fall of the Western Roman Empire. St. Jerome, living in Bethlehem, wrote: "the city which had taken the whole world was itself taken"

Photo in the gallery of a very similar Alamannic gold grip spatha, 5th century, with Life-bead attached to its museum created representational wooden scabbard portion. Without doubt in our opinion this was originally the former Hunnish or Visigoth sword of a highest ranked general, clan chief, king, or the equivalent status of leader.
Photo of that sword was taken at the Alamannenmuseum Ellwangen, Germany.

See;
Io. Grimm and Schmeller, LateinischeGedichtedes io. und ir. Jahrhundert(sGottingen, 1838). Alwin Schulz (San-Marte), trans., Walthervon Aquitanien(Magdeburg, I853). The most popular
translations are Victor von Scheffel's appendix to his Ekkehard (1855), the first romantic historical novel in German, and Karl Simrock's Das KleineHeldenbuch(Stuttgart and Berlin, I874).

About the Sword of the Huns and the
"Urepos"of the Steppes
HELMUT NICKEL
Curator of Arms and Armour, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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

Code: 24623

Absolutely Superb Esoteric Antique Witchcraft Fetish Statue. An African Kongo Witch Doctor's Nail-Fetish Power Figure, A Voduo {Voodoo} Nkondi Nkisi. Historically Much Feared by Victorian Missionaries as Instruments of Sorcery. Made by The Tribal Nganga

The African Kongo Witch Doctor's power figures minkisi {plural of nkisi} that stand prominent among all minkisi is called nkisi {sacred medicine} nkondi {hunter} likely from the Bakongo people. This type of figure is commonly called a nail fetish and is one of the most recognisable and collectible figures in all of African art. These life-like figures are instantly identified by the many nails, pegs, blades, and shards that are hammered into them and made by the tribal Nganga { Witch Doctor } .

Each individual insertion represents one of three things: an oath or agreement between two parties, a pledge to provide protection against enemies and witchcraft, or a vow of vengeance. 'Nkondi' literally means 'hunter;' and it is generally considered an aggressive entity.

The insertions are driven into the figure by the nganga and represent the mambu and the type or degree of severity of an issue can be suggested through the material itself. A peg may refer to a matter being ‘settled’ whereas a nail, or metal shard, deeply inserted, may represent a more serious offense such as murder. Prior to insertion, opposing parties or clients often lick the blades or nails, to seal the function or purpose of the nkisi through their saliva. If an oath is broken by one of the parties or evil befalls one of them, the nkisi nkondi will become activated to carry out its mission of destruction or divine protection

The imposing presence and implied power of nkisi nkondi is certainly enough to keep anyone committed to a promise or agreement. Like other minkisi, powerful medicine is usually stored inside the belly, which can then covered by a piece of glass or mirror. The reflective surface represents the world of the dead and the vision of the spirits. One is a traditional naked fetish witchcraft figure, standing upright, deeply carved staring eyes a the body studded overall with hundreds of nails of iron driven into the body, a traditional fetish upwards that may, some believe, have once held a spear.

A nkisi has many interrelated functions. African doctors use it to effect healing. They use the nkisi to search for the spiritual and physical source of a malady and then chase it away from the body. As a preventive measure, spiritual leaders also use it to protect the human soul, guarding it against disease and illness. In addition, they may use it to bind its owner to a friend or to attract lovers. It is also used to serve as a charm to repel enemies, arrest them in their tracks, or inflict an illness on them. Alternatively, a nkisi can be used to embody and direct a spirit; similarly, it can be used as a hiding place for a troubled soul, keeping order.

Nkisi, in west-central African lore, any object or material substance invested with sacred energy and made available for spiritual protection. One tradition of the Kongo people of west-central Africa holds that the god Funza gave the world the first nkisi. Africans uprooted during the Atlantic slave-trade era carried with them some knowledge of nkisi making. In places throughout the United States, particularly in the Deep South, African descendants still create minkisi. Nkisi making is also found throughout the Caribbean and South America, in places such as Cuba, Haiti, and Brazil.

This wild appearance of the Nganga was intended to create a frightening effect, or kimbulua in the Kongo language. The nganga's costume was often modeled on his nkisi. The act of putting on the costume was itself part of the performance; all participants were marked with red and white stripes, called makila, for protection.

The "circles of white around the eyes" refer to mamoni lines (from the verb mona, to see). These lines purport to indicate the ability to see hidden sources of illness and evil.

Yombe nganga often wore white masks, whose color represented the spirit of a deceased person. White was also associated with justice, order, truth, invulnerability, and insight: all virtues associated with the nganga.

The nganga is instructed in the composition of the nkondi, perhaps in a dream, by a particular spirit. In one description of the banganga's process, the nganga then cuts down a tree for the wood that s/he will use to construct the nkondi. He then kills a chicken, which causes the death of a hunter who has been successful in killing game and whose captive soul subsequently animates the nkondi figure. Based on this process, *Gell writes that the nkondi is a figure an index of cumulative agency, a "visible knot tying together an invisible skein of spatio-temporal relations" of which participants in the ritual are aware

After a tribal carver artist completed carving the artifact, the "nganga" transformed it into an object capable of healing illness, settling disputes, safeguarding the peace, and punishing wrongdoers. Each work of this kind or "nkisi" is associated with a spirit, that is subjected to a degree of human control.
Europeans may have encountered these objects during expeditions to the Congo as early as the 15th century. However, several of these fetish objects, as they were often termed, were confiscated by missionaries in the late 19th century and were destroyed as evidence of sorcery or heathenism. Nevertheless, several were collected as objects of fascination and even as an object of study of Kongo culture. Kongo traditions such as those of the nkisi nkondi have survived over the centuries and migrated to the Americas and the Caribbean via Afro-Atlantic religious practices such as vodun, Palo Monte, and macumba. In Hollywood these figures have morphed into objects of superstition such as New Orleans voodoo dolls covered with stick pins. Nonetheless, minkisi have left an indelible imprint as visually provocative figures of spiritual importance and protection.

Often such figures were placed outside, or within, the hut of a certain form of tribal elder, what we would refer to as, the tribal witch-doctor, called a Nganga as a symbol of his position within the local village, and his ability to cause magical curses and unpleasantness for villagers who had fallen out with others of the village or region, who then sought out the services of the so called 'witch-doctor' to resolve the problem, with, such as, a curse.

Vintage Hand Carved African Medicine Man Nkisi figures. Esoteric collector's pieces, connected to the so-called western term of Voodoo {vodou} magic, part of the pantheon of the occult, magic & witchcraft of Africa.

Among the various Kongo peoples, nkisi means a sacred medicine. This word has been extended to include objects containing that medicine as well. The carved wooden statues referred to in the 19th century as nail fetishes and more recently as power figures containing medicine that imbues them with divine power, are therefore nkisi as well. Due to the medicine they contain (which is administered by a witch doctor or nganga), they act as agents of divine power, granting requests. healing or attesting to agreements. Each decision or resolution is literally nailed down in the figure.

A certain class of nkisi, called nkondi, are able to enforce the solutions they provide actively and to seek vengeance against those who heed them not. These figures either menace the viewer with spears and fierce facial expressions, or strike intimidating, belligerent poses.

Nkisi nkondi specialize in different areas of life. The most important nkisi nkondi carries out mangaaka, or preeminent justice.

Surveillance or watchfulness assist the effective enforcement of the power figure’s decisions. This is registered in the size of the eyes or, in some cases, by multiple sets of eyes. The rope wrapped around some figures represents a snake, a watchful predator who lends its powers of observation to the figure. Double-headed figures have double the visual powers and can see into the city of the dead and the realm of the living at the same time.

Each power figure has a distinct personality, ranging from contemplative to angry to soulful to reserved to compassionate. The ability to suggest those qualities visually with such immediacy and precision is one of the most impressive aspect of the surviving figures.

Kongo religion Kikongo: Bukongo. Bakongo religion was translocated to the Americas along with its enslaved practitioners. Some surviving traditions include conjure, dreaming, possession by the dead to learn wisdom from the ancestors, traditional healing and working with minkisi. The spiritual traditions and religions that have preserved Kongo traditions include Hoodoo, Palo Monte, Lumbalú, Kumina, Haitian Vodou, Candomblé Bantu, Kongo traditions such as those of the nkisi nkondi have survived over the centuries and migrated to the Americas and the Caribbean via Afro-Atlantic religious practices such as vodun, Palo Monte, and macumba.

Similar examples in the Smithsonian and Metropolitan in the USA. One very similar nkisi, from the late 19th to mid 20th century has been a highlight of the Rockefeller collection since its acquisition in 1952.

*Gell, A . The Art of Anthropologie. London: Humanities Press.  read more

Code: 25503

A Mid 19th Century, Crystal Witch Ball Scrying Glass On A Fabulous, Bronze Figure of the Ancient Greek Titan, Atlas Bearing The Armillary Celestial Sphere. A Most Intriguing Classic Antique Collector's Item Of The Esoteric Mystical Arts and Occultism

A simply fabulous original antique collectors item, probably Italian, from a Grand Tour, is of a bronze ‘after the antique’ statue of the Titan, Atlas bearing the heavens, set upon a polished wood pediment. A stunning piece that would look absolutely wonderful upon a desk or set upon a mantle. The crystal skrying ball is removed by simply lifting it from its armillary. An armillary is a spherical framework mounted atop a figure or stand, with which a sphere could be held or mounted within. If a metal sphere was within it, it could be plain, or engraved, with stars or celestial bodies { see a Grand Tour variant version in the gallery}

The crystal ball was used by gazing into their centre, for the divination of the future, and the answering of questions. As well as the warding off of evil spirits and misfortune. A fascinating treasure - of great artistic quality. Antique bronze sculpture of Atlas, set with a Louis XVI style armillary sphere

War and punishment of the Titanomachy
Atlas and his brother Menoetius sided with the Titans in their war against the Olympians, the Titanomachy. When the Titans were defeated, many of them (including Menoetius) were confined to Tartarus, but Zeus condemned Atlas to stand at the western edge of the earth and hold up the sky on his shoulders. Thus, he was Atlas Telamon, "enduring Atlas", and became a doublet of Coeus, the embodiment of the celestial axis around which the heavens revolve.

A common misconception today is that Atlas was forced to hold the Earth on his shoulders, but Classical art shows Atlas holding the celestial spheres, not the terrestrial globe;

Witch balls were found in England in the 1600 and 1700s originally to ward off evil spirits and spells. By the 1800s witch balls crossed the Atlantic to New England. They also spread to other parts of Europe, being found in Italy, France, and Constantinople. The witch ball originated among cultures where harmful magic and those who practiced it were feared. They are one of many folk practices involving objects for protecting the household. The word witch ball may be a corruption of watch ball because it was used to ward off, guard against, evil spirits. They may be hung in an eastern window, placed on top of a vase, or for the very wealthy set upon a decorative gold stand, either pedestal, or figural, or suspended by a cord (as from the mantelpiece or rafters). They may also be placed on sticks in windows or hung in rooms where inhabitants wanted to ward off evil.

Superstitious European sailors valued the talismanic powers of the witch balls in protecting their homes. Witch balls appeared in America in the 19th century and larger, more opaque variations are often found in gardens under the name gazing ball. This name derives from their being used for divination and scrying where a person gazes into them dreamily to try to see future events or to see the answers to questions. However, gazing balls contain no strands within their interior. The witch ball holds great superstition with regard to warding off evil spirits in our particular English counties of East Sussex and West Sussex. The tradition was also taken to overseas British colonies, such as the former British colonies of New England, and remains popular in coastal regions. Apparently, our Hawkins forebears ship’s that sailed across to the New World in the 1600’s, for both trade, emigres, and pilgrims, would carry at least one witch ball hung within a net on board. Our paternal grandmother hung one such in a net from her home’s East window all her life until her death in the 1980’s.

The history of the crystal ball as a device can be traced as far back as to the Medieval Period in central Europe (between 500 – 1500 AD) and in Scandinavia (1050 – 1500 AD). The very ancient art of using reflective surfaces in divination is called scrying and is almost as old as man himself. Queen Elizabeth I consulted Dr John Dee, philosopher, mathematician and alchemist for advice in government and a smoky quartz ball that belonged to Dee is now in the British Museum. Any antique crystal spheres are very desirable especially if a well-known reader has used them. This is the best one we have ever seen quite simply and it must have belonged to someone who took their craft incredibly seriously as it would have been tremendously expensive to make at the time.

Occultism, a group of esoteric religious traditions emerging primarily from 19th-century Europe. In particular, the term occultism is associated with the ideas of the French Kabbalist and ceremonial magician Éliphas Lévi as well as the various figures, both in France and abroad, who were strongly influenced by his writings. In the academic study of esotericism, the term is often used in a broader sense to characterize all esoteric traditions that have adapted to an increasingly secular, globalized, and scientific world, including Spiritualism, Spiritism, Wicca, and the New Age milieu.
History
The term occultism derives from occult, itself adopted from the Latin word occultus, meaning “hidden” or “secret.” In medieval and early modern Europe this term had been used in reference to “occult properties,” or forces that, even if invisible to the human eye, were believed to exist within material objects. In the 16th century the term occult gained additional meanings, coming to also describe specific traditions of thought, usually called “occult sciences” or “occult philosophies.” Among the traditions repeatedly labeled under these terms were alchemy, astrology, and magia naturalis (“natural magic”), all of which are now typically regarded as forms of esotericism.
The earliest known use of the term occultism comes from French, where l’occultisme appears in Jean-Baptiste Richard’s 1842 work Enrichissement de la langue française (“Enrichment of the French Language”). The word’s popularization nevertheless results largely from its use by Alphonse Louis Constant, a French author who published a series of books under the pseudonym Éliphas Lévi in the 1850s and ’60s. Sometimes referred to as the “founder of occultism,” Lévi was a committed Roman Catholic and socialist interested in many older esoteric traditions, including ceremonial magic, Kabbalah, and the use of the tarot. In his writings, most notably his highly influential Dogme et rituel de la haute magie (The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic; 1854–1856), he wrote about a purported ancient and universal tradition of spiritual wisdom, the knowledge of which could help bridge the modern divide between science and religion. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many of the influential French figures who were inspired by Lévi—including Stanislas de Guaita, Joséphin Péladan, and Papus—also went on to describe their beliefs and practices as occultisme.
Scrying, also referred to as "seeing" or "peeping," is a practice rooted in divination and fortune-telling. It involves gazing into a medium, hoping to receive significant messages or visions that could offer personal guidance, prophecy, revelation, or inspiration

Scrying has been practiced in many cultures in the belief that it can reveal the past, present, or future. Some practitioners assert that visions that come when one stares into the media are from the subconscious or imagination, while others say that they come from gods, spirits, devils, or the psychic mind, depending on the culture and practice. There is neither any systematic body of empirical support for any such views in general however, nor for their respective rival merits; individual preferences in such matters are arbitrary

Undoubtedly, Nostradamus is the most recognized of scryers. In the sixteenth century, in ancient France, he was an astrologer and physician. He wrote in poetic quatrains which referenced future events. In his day, working as a magician conflicted with the law. His predictions were veiled to allow him to fly under the radar in that sense.

The Crystal Ball is a painting by John William Waterhouse completed in 1902. Waterhouse displayed both it and The Missal in the Royal Academy of 1902. The painting shows the influence of the Italian Renaissance with vertical and horizontal lines, along with circles "rather than the pointed arches of the Gothic".

Another painting in the gallery. Part of a private collection, the painting, by Pieter Claesz circa 1628, Still Life with Crystal Ball which depicts a crystal ball, a wand, a book of ceremonial magic, and a woman "weaving a spell", has been restored to show the skull which had been covered by a previous owner.

Yet another painting is Leonardo da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi' Circa 1500, of Jesus Christ bearing a crystal ball in his left hand.

Another photo in the gallery is an extremely similar study, a 17th century patinated bronze version of the same study, after the antique, yet bearing within an armillary a bronze sphere. That slightly older and taller variant version was recently valued at around 8,000 gbp.


Overall the the crystal ball is very good indeed but just the odd near invisible age marking. 25.5 cm high  read more

Code: 25501

A Most Fine Circa 1700 year Old Imperial Roman Vassal Warrior's Dagger Blade, Used Up To and Into The 5th Century AD Including By The Personal Guard of Emperor Gratian.

In superbly preserved condition, just lacking its wooden hilt as usual, due to wood and organic materials never surviving buried for longer that a few hundred years.
The same dagger as used by the personal guard units of Roman Emperor Gratian, who was so impressed by the skills of the Alans in combat, he invited them to be part of his personal guard, and he even went so far in his respect of their prowess in combat as to wear the very same form of armour as they wore.

Used by the warriors known as the 'Alans', they were predecessors of the medieval European knights, and from whence the Christian name Alan, that is still used today, descended from.

The Alans laid the foundation of medieval military tradition in Europe and inspired British mythology.

This is an incredible, original, Alans dagger, known as the a Samartian, blade, in very fine condition, professionally cleaned and superbly conserved.

The Alan guards combat dagger is highly distinctive, bearing two opposing side cuts at the ricasso before the tang. From the time when the Alan's Samartian warriors fought with the Roman Legions against Attila the Hun, and the Hunic invasion, and the battles of the Catalaunian Fields, that led to the death of Attila.

The Alans pursuit of war, a decent opponent and heroic death was legendary in the ancient times. But how did these tribes end up with such a military role and political impact in the West while so far from their homeland, and most often amongst enemies. Clearly, their number or strength was not the answer.

They conquered the West with their military culture and outstanding discipline. Their cavalry, clad in steel armour and arranged in tight rows, had the best skills of the time. German kings eagerly invited the Alans to serve in their armies, while their own subjects, mostly marching troops, learned horse riding and horse battle from them. The Alans impressed the arrogant Roman nobility so much that Emperor Gratian (359-383) invited them to his guard unit, reformed his cavalry based on their model and wore Alan clothes and armour himself.

Since the Alan society was mostly war-oriented, boys were taught horseback riding from early childhood. According to Marcellinus, Alan warriors considered it offensive for a man to walk. Isidore of Seville noted in the 6th century that they even looked somewhat clumsy without their horses.

The warriors and tribes known as Alans were part of the tribes derived from the word and term of the earlier people known as Aryans, from the old Indo-European-Iranian word Arya. Tall and good-looking with fair hair and menacing looks, the Alans were more warlike than other ethnic groups related to them. Later, their source name, Aryan, was used and abused by notorious effect by Hitler's 3rd Reich in the 20th century, as the basis of the true ancient Germanic peoples. This blade shape is highly distinctive and may well itself inspired the very similar blade shape of the German WW2 SS dagger, as much as the Tudor English Holbein dagger worn by Henry the 8th is said to have inspired the entire SS dagger pattern.
This dagger blade is from the 5th-6th century AD. A two-edged leaf-shaped iron blade, lentoid in section with tapering tang, notch above each shoulder. During the first period, the Alans appear as a nomadic, warlike, pastoral people who were professional warriors and took service, at various times, with the Romans, Parthians, and Sasanians.

Their cavalry was particularly renowned. They participated in Mithridates wars with Rome (chronicled by Lucan), as well as in Roman campaigns in Armenia, Media, and Parthia in the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. (see Josephus, Jewish Wars 7.244-51, Antiquities 18.97; cf. accounts in Moses of Khoren, History of the Armenians Langlois, Historiens II, pp. 105-06, 125 and the Georgian Chronicle Kartlis tskhovreba, in M. F. Brosset and D. I. Chubinov, Histoire de la Georgie I, St. Petersburg, 1849). Ammianus Marcellinus (31.2) describes the Alans? nomadic economy and warlike customs.

The invasion of the Huns split the Alans into two parts, the European and the Caucasian. Some of the European Alans were drawn into the migration of peoples from eastern into western Europe. With the Germanic tribes of Visigoths and Vandals they passed into Gaul and Spain, some even reaching North Africa. The Alans fought on the side of the Romans in the battle of the Catalaunian Fields (A.D. 451), when Aetius defeated Attila, chief of the Huns. In 461 and 464 they made incursions into Italy. After Attila's death they struggled, together with the Germanic tribes, to free themselves from Hun domination. Large Alan hordes settled along the middle course of the Loire in Gaul under King Sangiban and on the lower Danube with King Candac (the historian Jordanes sprang from the latter group). Another settlement is indicated by the name of the Spanish province Catalonia, which is but a slight deformation of Goth-Alania, provine of the Goths and Alans. The French proper name Alain and English Alan are an inheritance from the tribe. The Alans also left an imprint on Celtic folk-poetry, e.g., the cycle of legends concerning King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table (see M. Hesse, Iranisches Sagengut im Christlichen Epos, Atlantis 1937, pp. 621-28; J. H. Grisward, The motif of the sword thrown into the lake : The death of Arthur and the death of Batradz, Romania 90, 1969, pp. 289-340). Part of the European Alans remained in the lands bordering the Black Sea, including the Crimea. Gratian, Emperor Flavius Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the western part of the Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and was raised to the rank of Augustus in 367. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratian took over government of the west while his half-brother Valentinian II was also acclaimed emperor in Pannonia. Gratian governed the western provinces of the empire, while his uncle Valens was already the emperor over the east.

Gratian subsequently led a campaign across the Rhine, attacked the Lentienses, and forced the tribe to surrender. That same year, the eastern emperor Valens was killed fighting the Goths at the Battle of Adrianople, which led to Gratian elevating Theodosius to replace him in 379. Gratian favoured Nicene Christianity over traditional Roman religion, issuing the Edict of Thessalonica, refusing the office of pontifex maximus, and removing the Altar of Victory from the Roman Senate's Curia Julia. The city of Cularo on the Isère river in Roman Gaul was renamed Latin: Gratianopolis after him, which later evolved to Grenoble.

Hilts of Roman era swords and daggers effectively, are almost non existent, as they were made of organic materials, such as wood, horn etc. which rarely survives on edged weapons more than 400 to 500 years or so.  read more

Code: 22083

A Superb, Original 16th Century, Circa 1500's, Italian Glaive Polearm, A Simply Remarkable and Historical Piece Used in the 1500's. with An Incredible Slashing Blade & Counter Double Hook To Dismount Knights From Their Horses. In Excellent Condition

Also known as a fauchard. 34.5 inch head. glaive is a European polearm weapon, consisting of a single-edged blade on the end of a pole. It is similar to the Japanese naginata, the Chinese guandao, Russian sovnya and Siberian palma

Typically, the blade was from around 45 cm (18 inches) long, on the end of a pole 2 m (6 or 7 feet) long, and the blade was affixed in a socket-shaft configuration similar to an axe head, rather than having a tang like a sword or naginata. Occasionally glaive blades were created with a small hook on the reverse side such as this one to better catch riders on horseback. Such blades are called glaive-guisarmes.

According to the 1599 treatise Paradoxes of Defence by the English gentleman George Silver, the glaive is used in the same general manner as the quarterstaff, half pike, bill, halberd, voulge, or partisan. Silver rates this class of polearms above all other individual hand-to-hand combat weapons.
The Maciejowski Bible (Morgan Bible) depicts an example of a two-handed glaive used on horseback. Two images in our gallery are taken from the Morgan Bible (Folio 10 Verso - top). Notice the Warbrand in the forefront slicing into a mounted soldier with his glaive. Another early engraving of a knight with a glaive, and a group of men behing the king all with forms of glaive.
The contemporary term for this weapon may have been faussart, which was used for a variety of single-edged weapons seen as related to the scythe (along with terms such as falchion or falcata derived from falx, the Latin term for "scythe"). 96.75 inches long overall haft is so long it would need to be expertly but only temporarily halved by our workshop for shipping This superb glaive was formerly part of the Higgin's Collection and exhibited in the wonderful Higgins Museum Collection in Massachusetts for many decades, and it still bears, for its provenance, its original John Woodman Higgins Armoury Museum collection label.

https://www.worcesterart.org/collection/arms-and-armor/history/  read more

Code: 22579