A Rare Original Roman Gladiatrix, {A Female Gladiator} Size Bronze Ring, Early Imperial Roman Period. Featuring A Coliseum Barbary Lion in a Combat Pose Around 1900 Years Old

An amazing original historical ancient Roman artefact featuring a detailed intaglio hand engraving of a lion, in a gladiatorial standing pose, with its large mane and proud tail, from such as the gladiator and gladiatrix's arena in the Colosseum in Rome, from the time just before the Emperor's Marcus Aurelias and Commodus. The era superbly depicted in Sir Ridley Scott's blockbuster movie, Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe, and soon to be released Gladiator II.

The gladiatrix was a female gladiator of ancient Rome. Like their male counterparts, gladiatrices fought each other, or wild animals, to entertain audiences at games and festivals

Very little is known about female gladiators. They seem to have used much the same equipment as men, but were few in number and almost certainly considered an exotic rarity by their audiences. They are mentioned in literary sources from the end of the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire, and are attested in only a few inscriptions. Female gladiators were officially banned as unseemly from 200 AD onwards, but the word gladiatrix does not appear until late antiquity.
Tacitus writes of women of high status flaunting themselves in the arena during the time of Nero (Annals 15.32). Cassius Dio tells of the Emperor Titus putting on a combat where women were pitted against foes (Historia Romana, 67.8.4).

Petronius mentions a troupe of professional gladiators which included a woman fighting on a chariot (Satyricon 45). According to the gossipy Suetonius, the Emperor Domitian sponsored torch-lit combats at night between men and also between women (Domitian 4). Many Roman oil lamps feature gladiators, a handful of which show what seem to be female gladiators.

In copper bronze with stunning, natural age patination, in a regular female size of the time. By far the greatest percentage of rings from the Roman era were engraved in the stylised form, but a very small percent, perhaps less that .01 of a percent, were engraved in the realism form. This is one of those rare types of more realistic engravings.

The wearing of the ring was the prerogative alone of Roman citizens or those of high rank and esteem, that some gladiators always aspired to but rarely achieved due to their short life span within their violent craft. However some did achieve such great success and were rewarded with riches, freedom and the right to wear the traditional Roman bronze status ring.

Romans seem to have found the idea of a female gladiator novel and entertaining, or downright absurd; Juvenal titillates his readers with a woman named "Mevia", a beast-hunter, hunting boars in the arena "with spear in hand and breasts exposed", and Petronius mocks the pretensions of a rich, low-class citizen, whose munus includes a woman fighting from a cart or chariot.

Some regarded female gladiators of any class as a symptom of corrupted Roman sensibilities, morals and womanhood. Before he became emperor, Septimius Severus may have attended the Antiochene Olympic Games, which had been revived by the emperor Commodus and included traditional Greek female athletics. Septimius' attempt to give Romans a similarly dignified display of female athletics was met by the crowd with ribald chants and cat-calls.26 Probably as a result, he banned the use of female gladiators, from 200 AD.27

There may have been more, and earlier female gladiators than the sparse evidence allows; *McCullough speculates the unremarked introduction of lower-class gladiatores mulieres at some time during the Augustan era, when the gift of luxurious, crowd-pleasing games and abundant novelty became an exclusive privilege of the state, provided by the emperor or his officials. On the whole, Rome's elite authorities exhibit indifference to the existence and activities of non-citizen arenari of either gender. The Larinum decree made no mention of lower-class mulieres, so their use as gladiators was permissible. Septimius Severus' later wholesale ban on female gladiators may have been selective in its practical application, targeting higher-status women with personal and family reputations to lose. Nevertheless, this does not imply low-class female gladiators were commonplace in Roman life. Male gladiators were wildly popular, and were celebrated in art, and in countless images across the Empire. Only one near-certain image of female gladiators survives; their appearance in Roman histories is extremely rare, and is invariably described by observers as unusual, exotic, aberrant or bizarre.
The following historical quote from Antiquity is from Cassio Dios book of Roman History and is translated by Earnest Cary and Herbert Baldwin Foster. The succeeding quote is from Juvenals book Satire; which is translated by Niall Rudd.

“There was another exhibition that was once most disgraceful and most shocking, when men and women not only of the equestrian but even of the senatorial order appeared as performers in the orchestra, in the Circus, and in the hunting-theatre Colosseum, like those who are held in lowest esteem. Some of them played the flute and danced in pantomimes or acted in tragedies and comedies or sang to the lyre; they drove horses, killed wild beasts and fought as gladiators, some willingly and some sore against their will.”

“What sense of shame can be found in a woman wearing a helmet, who shuns femininity and loves brute force… If an auction is held of your wife’s effects, how proud you will be of her belt and arm-pads and plumes, and her half-length left-leg shin guard! Or, if instead, she prefers a different form of combat, how pleased you’ll be when the girl of your heart sells off her greaves! Hear her grunt while she practices thrusts as shown by the trainer, wiling under the weight of the helmet.”

A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their lives and their legal and social standing by appearing in the arena. Most were despised as slaves, schooled under harsh conditions, socially marginalised, and segregated even in death. However, success in the arena could mean riches and fame beyond their wildest dream. For many this was the greatest escape from slavery there was.

Irrespective of their origin, gladiators offered spectators an example of Rome's martial ethics and, in fighting or dying well, they could inspire admiration and popular acclaim. They were celebrated in high and low art, and their value as entertainers was commemorated in precious and commonplace objects throughout the Roman world.

The origin of gladiatorial combat is open to debate. There is evidence of it in funeral rites during the Punic Wars of the 3rd century BC, and thereafter it rapidly became an essential feature of politics and social life in the Roman world. Its popularity led to its use in ever more lavish and costly games.

The gladiator games lasted for nearly a thousand years, reaching their peak between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD the time of Emperor Commodus. Christians disapproved of the games because they involved idolatrous pagan rituals, and the popularity of gladiatorial contests declined in the fifth century, leading to their disappearance.

Commodus was the Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. His reign is commonly thought of as marking the end of a golden period of peace in the history of the Roman Empire, known as the Pax Romana.
Commodus became the youngest emperor and consul up to that point, at the age of 16. During his solo reign, the Roman Empire enjoyed reduced military conflict compared with the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Intrigues and conspiracies abounded, leading Commodus to revert to an increasingly dictatorial style of leadership, culminating in his creating a deific personality cult, with his performing as a gladiator in the Colosseum. Throughout his reign, Commodus entrusted the management of affairs to his palace chamberlain and praetorian prefects, named Saoterus, Perennis and Cleander.

Commodus's assassination in 192, by a wrestler in the bath, marked the end of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was succeeded by Pertinax, the first emperor in the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors.

Most gladiators paid subscriptions to "burial clubs" that ensured their proper burial on death, in segregated cemeteries reserved for their class and profession. A cremation burial unearthed in Southwark, London in 2001 was identified by some sources as that of a possible female gladiator (named the Great Dover Street woman). She was buried outside the main cemetery, along with pottery lamps of Anubis (who like Mercury, would lead her into the afterlife), a lamp with the image of a fallen gladiator, and the burnt remnants of Stone Pine cones, whose fragrant smoke was used to cleanse the arena. Her status as a true gladiatrix is a subject of debate. She may have simply been an enthusiast, or a gladiator's ludia (wife or lover).17 Human female remains found during an archaeological rescue dig at Credenhill in Herefordshire have also been speculated in the popular media as those of a female gladiator

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

*McCullough, Anna, “Female Gladiators in the Roman Empire”, in: Budin & Turfa (eds), Women in Antiquity: Real Women across the Ancient World, Routledge (2016), p. 958, citing Scholia in Iuvenalem Vetustiora, on Juvenal, Satire 6, 250-251 nam vere vult esse gladiatrix quae meretrix "for she really wants to be a gladiator who is a harlot"

Detail from the Villa Borghese gladiator and gladiatrix mosaic, AD 320, and discovered in 1834 (Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy).

UK {female} size I approx. Slightly ovoid through ancient wear  read more

Code: 25465

A Most Scarce Victorian Antique Honourable Artillery Company Officer's Sword. In Field Service Scabbard

Typical gilt metal hilt with the HAC grenade. Etched blade, with surface wear. Regulation field service steel mounted leather scabbard.

The South African War: 1899-1902
Around 200 members of the Company fought in the South African War with various units. The majority of these members served with the artillery, infantry or mounted infantry sub-units of the City Imperial Volunteers (CIV) between January and October 1900. The CIV was formed under the auspices of the Lord Mayor of London. The HAC’s Colonel and Commanding Officer, the Earl of Denbigh and Desmond, was instrumental in raising and equipping the CIV Battery, which was officered and, for the most part, manned by members of the HAC. This was the first occasion that the Company’s membership saw active service overseas and six members died whilst serving during this war.

The HAC can trace its history as far back as 1296, but it received a Royal Charter from Henry VIII on 25 August 1537, when Letters Patent were received by the Overseers of the Fraternity or Guild of St George authorising them to establish a perpetual corporation for the defence of the realm to be known as the Fraternity or Guild of Artillery of Longbows, Crossbows and Handgonnes. This body was known by a variety of names until 1656, when it was first referred to as the Artillery Company. It was first referred to as the Honourable Artillery Company in 1685 and officially received the name from Queen Victoria in 1860.

The regiment has the rare distinction of having fought on the side of both Parliament and the Royalists during the English Civil War 1642 to 1649.

Pictures in the gallery of the HAC HQ, the HAC Armoury, and the HAC parade and cricket ground, all in the heart of the City of London  read more

Code: 25484

A Cased Pair Of Attractive, Antique, Victorian, Belgian Percussion Boxlock Pistols. A Pair of 'Barkers' Set in a Walnut Box Case In The French Style. Walnut Bag-Shaped Pistol Grips

Just returned from the workshop in order to have considerable conservation to both pistols, taking several days, in order to have both their surface finishes hand cleaned, polished, re-blued and conserved, plus, their actions oiled. Walnut box is a later casing in the French style.

The nickname 'Barkers' was popularized in 19th-century literature. For example, in Charles Dickens' 1837 novel Oliver Twist, a character prepares for a robbery by arming himself with a pair of "barkers".

A very similar percussion 'Barker' appears in a photograph, in the book 'Crimean Memories', by Hutchinson, Vice and Small, {Page 169} used by Surgeon M.B. Munro of the 93rd {Sutherland Highlanders} of Foot in the Crimean war, as one of a pair of his personal defence weapons. Now in the Regimental Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum.

Boxlock pistols were pocket pistols popular in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Effectively the first Derringers. The most unique feature of their design was the boxlock mechanism. 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.

In 18th and 19th-century slang, a pistol was called a
barker because its loud explosion was thought to resemble the "bow-wow" or barking of a dog.

The term originated as "barking iron," an Irish expression recorded in the 1785 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. Over time, it was shortened simply to "barker." It was initially "cant" (thieves' slang) used by footpads and highwaymen during robberies.
The term was also adopted by Royal Navy seamen to refer to both small Sea Service pistols and larger lower-deck artillery pieces.

While other colourful nicknames like "pops," "snappers," and "meat in the pot" were also used during this era, "barker" remained a common term until the end of the 19th century.

Overall blued with light natural aged russet surface beneath, both actions are tight with good springs, one action fires well on double cocking, the second just on first cocking. The walnut box is good, with some old surface scratching, key lock works well.

Box case 8 inches x 10 1/5 inches x 2 inches, pistols, overall 8 1/2 inches each, barrel's 4 inches each.

Priced once the conservation cost has been calculated  read more

Code: 26088

A Superb Later 19th Century French Chassepot M1866 Sword Bayonet, Post Franco Prussian War Issue, Manufactured at the Armoury of St Etienne. Japanese Purchase Import Used In The Japanese Russian War 8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905

Stunning example, with very good steel and brass, manufactured at the French arsenal at St Etienne to mount upon the service issue Chassepot rifle. Acquired by us from an exclusive high quality and rare service use bayonet collection, and this bayonet was bought by the collector in Japan as one of the rare survivors after service in the Russian- Japanese War, {as well as his Enfield Yataghan bayonets bought by Japan from America after the Civil War}. Although by the time of the war the Japanese generally used the type 22 Murata, some naval land troops were still in service with the 1880's French Chassepot-Murata conversions with Chassepot bayonets.

The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the Liaodong Peninsula and near Mukden in Southern Manchuria, with naval battles taking place in the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan.

Its inventor was, Antoine Alphonse Chassepot, and it became the French service weapon in 1866. It was first used at the battlefield at Mentana, November 1867, where it inflicted severe losses on Garibaldi's troops. The event was reported at the French Parliament: "Les Chassepots ont fait merveille!", {The Chassepots did marvelous execution !} In the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) it proved greatly superior to the German Dreyse needle gun, outranging it by 2 to 1. Although it was a smaller caliber but the chassepot ammunition had more gunpowder and thus faster muzzle velocity. The Chassepots were responsible for most of the Prussian and other German casualties during the conflict. This is the most widely copied of all the sword bayonets. Many countries - including the United States, Egypt, Belgium, and Argentina - have manufactured or used very similar bayonets. The French model was designed to fit on the French Model 1866 Chassepot Rifled Infantry Musket (the musket was revolutionary in itself). It was manufactured from 1866 to about 1874 and was replaced by the French Model 1874 "Gras" Bayonet.
The bayonets are brass-hilted The crossguard is iron (steel) and has a screw-type tightening arrangement on the muzzle-ring. The lower quillon is a hooked "blade-breaker" type.
The blade is steel, single-edged, fullered (both sides), with a re-curved or "yataghan-shape." The blades marked on the back-edge (opposite the cutting edge) with the arsenal, month, and year of manufacture; this is done in engraved cursive fashion
Arsenals encountered may be such as Chatellerault, Mutzig, St. Etienne, Paris-Oudry, Tulle, and perhaps Steyr (not confirmed on the 1866). The French wars during the life-span of this bayonet were: French Intervention in Mexico (1861-1867);
Franco-Prussian War (July 19, 1870 - May 10, 1871)
French Indo-China (1873-1874, 1882-1883);
Sino-French War (1883-1885);
Madagascar Wars (1883-1885, 1895);
1st Mandingo-French War (1883-1886);
1st Dahomeyan-French War (1889-1990);
2nd Dahomeyan-French War (1892-1894);
Franco-Siamese War of (1893)
2nd Mandingo-French War (1894-1895);
Conquest of Chad (1897-1914);
3rd Mandingo-French War (1898);
Japanese Russian War ( 8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905)
Moroccan War (1907-1912);
The Wadai War (1909-1911);
World War I (early).

These bayonets were widely copied and used by many countries - including the United States, Belgium, and Germany. Many of the actual French-marked bayonets can be found with German manufactured blades. It is believed some of these were used during the American Civil War when many European arsenals were emptied of their surplus arms.
These bayonets are the French Model 1866 "Chassepot" Bayonet.
The crossguard are iron (steel) and with a "cock's comb" muzzle-ring finial. The lower quillon is a hooked "blade-breaker" type.
The blade is steel, single-edged, fullered (both sides), with a re-curved or "yataghan-shape." One blade is marked on the back-edge (opposite the cutting edge) with the arsenal, month, and year of manufacture; this is done in engraved cursive fashion.

France sold large quantities of Chassepot rifles to Japan during the late 19th century, which Japan used alongside other imported arms, eventually leading to their conversion and adaptation into the indigenous Murata rifle, Japan's first domestically produced standard infantry rifle. Japan acquired Chassepots as part of broader efforts to modernize its military after opening from isolation, initially using them with their needle-fire system before converting them for metallic cartridges

Picture in the gallery {photo 7} of an anti-Russian satirical map that was produced by a Japanese student at Keio University during the Russo–Japanese War. It follows the design used for a similar map first published in 1877.  read more

Code: 26092

A Beautiful, Signed (山城守藤原秀辰) Hidetoki, Shinto Chisa Katana With Exceptional, Original Edo Period, Nashiji Gold & Contrasting Brown and Red Ground Urushi Lacquer Saya, Decorated With Representations of Longevity, Strength, Loyalty, & Good Fortune

A katana signed Hidetoki (山城守秀辰) a respected swordsmith from the Seki (Tokuin school), with several generations known, particularly the second-generation Hidetoki from the Early Edo period (Shōhō era, 1644–1648), known for producing sharp, highly-rated blades (Wazamono). These signatures often appear as "Seki-jū Yamashiro no Kami Fujiwara Hidetoki" (関住山城守藤原秀辰) for the first generation, and later as just "Yamashiro no Kami Hidetoki" by the second generation.

The katana is mounted in superb original Edo koshirae, with a Higo school iron kashira, and a tetsu fuchi, made in two slotted together parts, with a brass rimmed inner liner. Also, including a pair of shakudo menuki of dragons wrapped beneath beautiful, blue, tsuka-ito. A superb round tetsu tsuba with gold and copper filled kodzukana. With {two holes} udenuki no ana for the tying of an udenuki no O {wrist cord} that is done in a specific way, that requires these two holes in a specific position. It should be fastened/looped (called shirushizuke) on the fuchi part of the sword (the metal bordering piece between the swords tsuba (guard) and the tsuka (handle). Ideally, for both short and long swords- they should be the same length. It stops the samurai from dropping their katana during combat
It further assists the samurai in holding the strap in his mouth when dismounting or mounting a horse)

The original Edo saya of the sword is utterly amazing, it is decorated in dark brown and mid red urushi lacquer to simulate the bark of the pine tree with tiny speckles of abilone shell representing minuscule snow flakes, above that decor ground are nishiji lacquer pine-cones with their elongated bunched fascicle which are actually pine tree leaves, but physically, more greatly resemble elongated needles. The quality of the craftsmanship to create such a desgn is breathtaking.

In the gallery is a powerful Japanese woodblock print attributed to Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892), from the 100 Aspects of the Moon series (1885–1892).
It depicts a samurai with his attendant beneath a pine tree, gazing toward a moonlit sky, embodying Yoshitoshi’s fascination with loyalty and reflection.


Japanese decor featuring pine cones often highlight the tree's symbolism of longevity and resilience, appearing in traditional kacho-ga (bird-and-flower) art by masters like Kono Bairei (1844–1895)

Pine (Matsu): Represents longevity, strength, and good fortune, often used in New Year's decorations and art for its evergreen nature.
Pine Cones: A specific symbol of fertility and the continuation of life, beautifully complementing the pine's overall meaning.

The chisa katana was able to be used with one or two hands like a katana (with a small gap in between the hands) and especially made for double sword combat a sword in each hand. It was the weapon of preference worn by the personal Samurai guard of a Daimyo Samurai war lord clan chief, as very often the Daimyo would be often likely within his castle than without. The chisa katana sword was far more effective as a defence against any threat to the Daimyo's life by assassins or the so-called Ninja when hand to hand sword combat was within the castle structure, due to the restrictions of their uniform low ceiling height. But in trained hands this sword would have been a formidable weapon in close combat conditions, when the assassins were at their most dangerous. The hilt was usually around ten to eleven inches in length, but could be from eight inches or up to twelve inches depending on the Samurai's preference. Chisa katana, Chiisagatana or literally "short katana", are shoto mounted as katana. It is fair to say wakizashi are shoto which are mounted in a similar way to katana, but in this instance we are considering the predecessors of the daisho. In the transitional period from tachi to katana, katana were called "uchigatana", and shoto were referred to as "koshigatana" and "chiisagatana", in many cases quite longer than the later more normal length wakizashi.

There are many reasons why people enjoy collecting swords. Some people are drawn to the beauty and craftsmanship of swords, while others appreciate their historical and cultural significance. Swords can also be a symbol of power and strength, and some collectors find enjoyment in the challenge of acquiring rare or valuable swords.

One of the greatest joys of sword collecting is the opportunity to learn about the history and culture of different civilisations. Swords have been used by warriors for millennia, and each culture has developed its own unique sword designs and traditions. By studying swords, collectors can gain a deeper understanding of the people who made and used them.

Another joy of sword collecting is the sheer variety of swords that are available. There are swords in our gallery from all over the world and from every period of history. Collectors can choose to specialize in a particular type of sword, such as Japanese katanas or medieval longswords, or they can collect a variety of swords from different cultures and time periods. No matter what your reasons for collecting swords, it is a hobby that can provide many years of enjoyment. Swords are beautiful, fascinating, and historically significant objects.

Every item is accompanied with our unique, Certificate of Authenticity. Of course any certificate of authenticity, given by even the best specialist dealers, in any field, all around the world, is simply a piece of paper,…however, ours is backed up with the fact we are the largest dealers of our kind in the world, with over 100 years and four generation’s of professional trading experience behind us.

The world of antique sword collecting is a fascinating journey into the past, offering a unique lens through which to view history and culture. More than mere weapons, these artifacts serve as tangible connections to the societies and ancient times where they originated. Each blade tells a story, not just of the battles it may have seen but of the craftsmanship, artistic trends, and technological advancement of its time.

The swords mountings can be equally telling. Engravings and decorative elements may enhance the sword’s beauty and hint at its historical context. The materials used for them can reveal the sword’s age

Collecting antique swords, arms and armour is not merely an acquisition of objects; it’s an engagement with the historical and cultural significance that these pieces embody. As collectors, we become custodians of history, preserving these heritage symbols for future generations to study and appreciate.

We are now, likely the oldest, and still thriving, arms armour and militaria stores in the UK, Europe and probably the rest of the world too. We know of no other store of our kind that is still operating under the control its fourth successive generation of family traders  read more

Code: 26080

An Original, Antique, Continental 'Derringer' Back-Action Percussion Lock Pocket Pistol Circa 1840. Fancy Engraved Lock. Blued Steel Finish

This pistol is singularly attractive. It was acquired with a pair of cased, Belgian, percussion 'Barkers' boxlock pistols. This pistol required full servicing, and hand conservation by our artisans, and after three intensive days work it has been completed and looks dramatically improved and very charming indeed. The percussion action has now been hand cleaned and conserved to be as tight and crisp as it was 185 years ago.

This 'Derringer type of pocket pistol was actually made before the Philadelphia, US, Henry Deringer pistol, by varied makers, but the Henry Deringer pistol was made famous, by being used in the notorious assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.

This is the very same style and form as the Lincoln Deringer pistol, and it is not known if the American, original Henry Deringer pistol example was a design made first, by his company, or other way round.

One of the scarcest and most collectable small pistol of American history, is the original US, Philadelphia manufactured, Henry Deringer's back action lock 'Deringer' pistol. The pistol that was used by Henry Wilkes Booth to assassinate probably the most famous American President to have ever lived, Abraham Lincoln. It was this Deringer gun after which all small pocket pistols have since been named. A pistol and name that shall live on in memory, for as long as American history is recorded.
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In the century and a half since it happened, populist history has largely boiled down the assassination of Abraham Lincoln to the story of a single perpetrator: John Wilkes Booth. Four of the eight convicted for participating in the conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln in April of 1865 died on the gallows three months later.
But in his appearance at the Camden County Historical Society, Lincoln scholar Hugh Boyle made clear that the real story is a sprawling epic. It involves a gang of Confederate operatives and sympathizers that first plotted to kidnap the President and, when that failed, decided to murder not only him, but the Vice President and Secretary of State as well. Their goal was to decapitate and destabilize the federal government in hopes of forcing a settlement to the war that would avoid the South's total defeat. In the end, they managed to kill Lincoln and seriously injure Secretary of State William Seward.

By 1865, the South was a vast swath of utter destruction.
It was a time of massive upheaval, great danger and high emotion for the South, so the idea that someone might be thinking about attacking the President or other high government officials was not a crazy one in the atmosphere of the times."
The frustrations and angst of the Southern cause came to a boil in April of 1865. Its capital, Richmond, Va. -- now a burned out hulk of a city -- was captured and occupied by Ulysses S. Grant's forces on April 3. Six days later, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia surrendered and was disarmed at Appomattox. Three days after that -- April 11 -- President Lincoln, standing in a second-story window of the White House, spoke to a huge crowd in a city gone wild in celebration of the Appomattox surrender. But among those listening in that crowd were John Wilkes Booth and 21-year-old Lewis Thornton Powell.

John Wilkes Booth, one of America's most famous actors of the time, and Lewis Thornton Powell were enraged by the President's White House speech on April 11. Three days later, Booth killed Lincoln in Ford's Theater while Powell tried to kill Secretary of State William Seward in his home. Booth was one of the country's most famous actors and an ardent supporter of the Confederacy. His young companion, Powell, was a Confederate army veteran and a second cousin of Confederate general John B. Gordon
The gang leader -- 27-year-old John Wilkes Booth -- was tracked down and shot to death by Union soldiers in Virginia. Eight others were convicted of being conspirators with Booth. Four were sentenced to death and hung, including the first woman ever executed by the U.S. government. The other four were sent to a remote prison island off the coast of Florida.
John Wilkes Booth killed President Lincoln with a shot in the back of the head near his left ear. The Henry Deringer pistol was the weapon he used. Manufactured by Henry Derringer. The weapon was found on the floor of the State Box in Ford's Theatre after the assassination, but it located today in the basement of Ford's Theatre.

10.8cm / 4 1/4 inches barrel length, 8 inches / 20cm long overall

Priced once the conservation cost has been calculated  read more

Code: 26091

Napoleonic Wars Era, Flintlock 'Brown Bess' Musket. A Mighty & Strong Musket Of Substantial Heft, Presence and Beauty. The ‘Brown Bess’ Musket Is Likely The Most Famous Service Musket of All Time In The Napoleonic Wars, Stalwart of The British ‘Square’

A King George IIIrd period 'Brown Bess', Dublin Castle flintlock. Extra strength example which is typical of muskets from Dublin Castle, as their assembled muskets frequently had stronger grade stocks than the equivalent Tower of London examples, made in London.

In the gallery a depiction of a Napoleonic-era British infantry square at the Battle of Quatre Bras, Belgium, 1815.
An infantry square, also known as a hollow square or square formation, was a musket-era historic close order formation used in combat by British infantry units, usually when threatened with cavalry attack. To deploy its weapons effectively, a traditional infantry unit would generally form a line; but the line was vulnerable to more nimble cavalry, which could sweep around the end of the line, or burst through it, and then attack the undefended rear or simply sweep along the line attacking the individual footsoldiers successively. By arranging the unit so that there was no undefended rear or flank, an infantry commander could organise an effective defense against cavalry attack. With both the development of modern repeating firearms and the demise of cavalry in warfare, the square formation is considered obsolete and is effectively never used in modern day warfare.

It has a good and fine patinated walnut stock, good action, and good traditional third pattern brass furniture, trigger guard. 32" barrel. Often the shorter barrel length of 32-33" were supplied for sergeants of the line within the regiments. Dublin Castle mounted flintlocks are scarce and are now and are very highly prized and esteemed, especially by the collectors of early Irish weaponry.

This is a very handsome piece, and it is often described as a joy to own a fine looking 'Brown Bess' musket. Such muskets were frequently issued to regiments formed in Ireland, the famed birthplace of the renown ‘Iron Duke’, the victor over Napoleon at Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington.

The story of the Irish regiments under Wellington's command, such as in in the famous and renown 27th Regiment of Foot, the Enniskillen Inniskilling,. It was a descendent entity from one of the Enniskillen militia raised during the War of the Two Kings, which had become an established unit during the many wars of the 18th century. Against France in this round of fighting, the “Inniskilling” regiment fought in Flanders before helping to take islands in the Caribbean, as many Irish regiments did, suffering terribly from the heat and tropical diseases they were soon unsuited to deal with. Later came greater glory, with the regiment taking part in the Battle of Alexandria in 1801 and then the Battle of Maida in Italy, both crucial victories in the respective campaigns. The regiment entered into the Peninsular Wars in dribs and drabs, with its 1st Battalion joining Wellesley nearly everywhere, and the 3rd only arriving in 1813, but the regiment still had the opportunity to inflict heavy casualties on the French enemy at the Battle of Castalla, before suffering the same a few months later at Ordal, one of the last significant French victories of that campaign. In 1815, the regiment took its place at Waterloo. The 27th Foot bore the brunt of Napoleon’s frontal assault and suffered 481 men killed or injured. The course of the French Revolutionary Wars and the subsequent Napoleonic Wars bears little going into. Between 1792 and 1815, France fought numerous conflicts against a series of opposing coalitions. What began as a conflict of mere survival for the Revolution soon morphed into a more imperialistic venture when France fell under the control of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799: he would eventually lead France to control a huge chunk of Europe, stretching all the way to Moscow in the east and to the Portuguese coastline in the west. But it couldn’t last, with the French state practically dependent on constant expansion to sustain itself, and Napoleon suffered two major falls, the first in 1813 when British, Austrian, Russian and Prussian overran France, and the second in 1815, after the titanic clash at Waterloo. Throughout the entire conflict, Irish troops were heavily involved, in numerous armies, but none more so than the British.The 1st Battalion went on to fight at the Battle of Waterloo as part of John Lambert's 10th Brigade in the 6th Division. At about 6:30 PM, the French captured the key strongpoint of La Haye Sainte farm. After this success, they brought up several cannon and took the Anglo-Allied lines under fire at extremely close range. At this period, the 698-strong battalion was deployed in square at the point where the Ohain road crossed the Charleroi to Brussels highway. At a range of 300 yards (270 m), the French artillery caused the unit enormous casualties within a short time. At day's end, the 1st Battalion had lost 105 killed and 373 wounded, a total of 478 casualties, without breaking. The unit was described as "lying dead in a square". At the time of Waterloo, the soldiers of the 27th were dressed in red, short-tailed jackets, overall trousers, and a high-fronted shako. The facing colour was buff and it was displayed on the collar, cuffs, and shoulder-straps. The lace on the cuffs and jackets had square-ended loops.

The muskets barrel shows clearly where, during its later working lifetime, it has travelled with the East India Company Army and served in India, and thus been struck with their armoury’s stamps.
Due to the vagaries of intense war and the inevitable short supply of arms, often muskets and pistols had to be supplied by the board of ordnance from gun parts in stores, and thus assembled as and when urgency demanded, or guns returned to the ordnance to replace parts damaged in combat, guns of some mixed part types were inevitable. Therefore, typically this musket has a 'Brown Bess' new land style butt plate, and a transitional period {central screw} sideplate.
A photo in the gallery shows a photograph of one section of the collection in the museum of Waterloo, taken in around 1900, showing all the weapons used at Waterloo en situ, including all the protagonists {British Brown Bess, French, Prussian and Belgian muskets, swords, pistols, armour uniforms, etc}. The museum was founded and owned by a veteran of the 7th Hussars that fought at Waterloo. Overall the musket is in very a nice condition, and an impressive looking and nicely composed musket, and with, as to be expected, signs of usual combat use. A service musket that likely would have seen many decades of faithful service use in combat. Nice condition for age, barrel rear site dovetail fitted later, fires from single cocking.  read more

Code: 23209

A Wonderful, Original, Antique Victorian Helmet of the 2nd Dragoon Guards {The Queen's Bays}

Superb condition with gilt finish skull and decor, all original lining present and chin chain. One of the best surviving examples one can see in our out of a museum

Following a long period of policing and garrison duties at home, the unit next deployed to India after the outbreak of mutiny there in 1857. It went on to help capture Lucknow in 1858.

It then spent most of the remainder of the 19th century garrisoning India or on home service. It also deployed to the Boer War (1899-1902) in 1901, taking part in the anti-guerrilla operations there, and sustaining heavy losses at Leeuwkop in 1902.

The outbreak of the First World War (1914-18) saw it deploy to the Western Front with the 1st Cavalry Division. It fought in both a mounted and infantry role in many engagements, including the Retreat from Mons, (1914), Le Cateau (1914), the Marne (1914), Ypres (1914), the Somme (1916), Arras (1917), Cambrai (1917) and the Scarpe (1918).

How Major George Harold Absell Ing, Of The 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays), Won The D.S.O. At The Second Battle Of Ypres

On the evening of Wednesday, May 12th 1915, the 28th Division which held that part of our line from a point northeast of Verlorenhoek to the Bellewaarde Lake, and which had been fighting continuously since April 22nd, went into reserve, its place being taken by the 1st and 3rd Cavalry Divisions, under general de Lisle. It was a difficult line to defend, since there were no natural advantages and our trenches were to a large extent recently improvised. This cavalry were very speedily to discover to their cost, for early on the following morning a terrific bombardment began against their front, shells of every description raining down in a continuous stream. The brunt of the bombardment fell on the 3rd Division, and the 3rd Dragoon Guards, I the 6th brigade, were almost buried alive beneath the debris of their parapet. But farther north, where the 2nd Dragoon Guards were posted, close to the Ypres-Zonnebeke road, the shelling was also very heavy, and about 8 a.m. part of the regiment on their right began to retire, their trenches having been rendered untenable. The retirement might easily have become a general one, had not a brave officer of the Queen?s Bays, Major Ing, at great personal risk, saved the situation. Leaving his own trench, he ran out into the open road, standing there, with shells every moment bursting around him, stopped the retirement of some forty men and directed them to take shelter, some in shell holes and others in ditch beside the road on their flank. By this prompt and gallant action, for which he was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Order, Major Ing rendered a most invaluable service. Major Ing entered the 2nd Dragoon Guards in September 1900, and served in the South African War, in which he was slightly wounded, and for which he received the Queen?s Medal with five clasps. He was promoted captain in February 1914, and attained his present rank in August 1911. He is thirty-five years of age, and his home is at Crockham Hill, Kent. Extracted from 'Deeds That Thrill The Empire'

The regiment was renamed the Queen's Bays (2nd Dragoon Guards) in 1921 and spent the inter-war period in Egypt, India and England, where it mechanised with light tanks in 1937. Two years later, it joined the Royal Armoured Corps.

It fought in northern France in May and June 1940, before evacuating from Brest. By November 1941, it had recovered and re-equipped, deploying to North Africa and fighting at Gazala and the First and Second Battles of Alamein in 1942. At one point in the campaign, it remained in action continuously for a record 19 days - longer than any other armoured regiment in that theatre.

After taking part in the Tunisian campaign in 1943, it moved to Italy in May 1944, fighting in several engagements including the Battle of Argenta Gap (1945).  read more

Code: 25327

Archaic Zhou Dynasty Bronze Halberd or ‘Ge’ Circa 5th Century BC the Period of the Great Military Doctrine 'The Art of War' by General Sun-Tzu

Another from our collection of stunning ancient Chinese swords and weaponry that we recently acquired, including halbeard axe called a 'Ge'.

This is the very type of original ancient ceremonial halberd, defined by the ancient Chinese as a dagger axe 'Ge' and exactly the type as used by the warriors serving under the world renowned General Sun Tzu, in the Kingdom of Wu, who is thought by many to be the finest general, philosopher and military tactician who ever lived. His 2500 year old book on the methods of warfare, tactics and psychology are still taught and highly revered in practically every officer training college throughout the world.

In excavated condition, cast in one piece, slightly curved terminal blade of flattened-diamond section, pierced along a basal flange with three slots, and a hole with fabulous areas of crystallized malachite, blue/green patina.

We also show in the gallery a painting of how this 'Ge' halbard would have been used once mounted 2500 odd years ago on its long haft, and used by a Zhou warrior, there is also one depicted being carried in a painting that we show in the gallery being used in an infantry charge in the Zhou dynasty.

This is a superb original ancient piece from one of the great eras of Chinese history, it is unsigned but near identical to another that was signed and inscribed with details that have now been fully translated, deciphered and a few years ago shown at Sothebys New York estimated to a sale value of $300,000. Its research details are fully listed below, and it is photographed within our gallery for the viewers comparison. Naturally, our un-inscribed, but still, very rare original version, from the same era and place, is a much more affordable fraction of this price

The signed and named Sotheby's of New York example that we show in the gallery, was formerly made for its original warrior owner, Qu Shutuo of Chu, it is from the same period and in similar condition as ours. We reference it's description below, and it is photographed within the gallery, it is finely cast with the elongated yuan divided by a raised ridge in the middle of each side and extending downward to form the hu, inscribed to one side with eight characters reading Chu Qu Shutuo, Qu X zhisun, all bordered by sharply finished edges, the end pierced with three vertically arranged chuan (apertures), the nei with a further rectangular chuan and decorated with hook motifs, inscribed to one side with seven characters reading Chuwang zhi yuanyou, wang zhong, and the other side with five characters reading yu fou zhi X sheng, the surface patinated to a dark silver tone with light malachite encrustation
An Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ritual Bronzes. Loaned by C.T. Loo & Co., The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, 1940, pl. XXXIII.
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, March - June 1948.

This inscribed bronze halberd blade, although typical in form, is uniquely important as its inscription serves as a critical primary source that reveals the name of its original owner: Qu Shutuo of Chu. The only known close counterpart to this blade is a damaged bronze halberd blade, missing the yuan, and inscribed on the hu with seven characters, which can be generally translated to ‘for the auspicious use of Qu Shutuo of Chu’. That halberd is now in the collection of the Hunan Provincial Museum, Hunan, and published in Wu Zhenfeng, Shangzhou qingtongqi mingwen ji tuxiang jicheng Compendium of inscriptions and images of bronzes from Shang and Zhou dynasties, vol. 32, Shanghai, 2012, no. 17048

The remaining thirteen inscriptions can be translated as: 'Qu Shutuo of Chu, Qu X's grandson, yuanyou of the King of Chu'. Based on the inscription, the owner of this blade can be identified as such.

See for reference; The Junkunc Collection: Arts of Ancient China / Sotheby's New York
Lot 111

We also show in the gallery a photo of another similar halberd from a museum exhibition, of a Chinese ancient king bodyguard’s halberd gilt pole mounts for his personal charioteer

This is one of a stunning collection of original archaic bronze age weaponry we have just acquired. Many are near identical to other similar examples held in the Metropolitan in New York, the British royal collection, and such as the Hunan Provincial Museum, Hunan, China. As with all our items, every piece is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Approx 9.75 inches across.  read more

Code: 24390

A Wonderful Original 16th Century Map of America By Giovanni Antonio Magini

A fabulous original historical artifact ideal for the collector with an interest in early maps and the earliest period of modern America. Magini (Giovanni Antonio), Plate XXXIIII, Descrittione Dell'America, O Dell'India Occidentale, no date [ printed in 1598], engraved map of America [North and South] with Italian text below, map plate 140mm x 180mm, uncoloured, mounted, framed and glazed. Giovanni Antonio Magini (in Latin, Maginus) (13 June 1555 11 February 1617) was an Italian astronomer, astrologer, cartographer, and mathematician. He was born in Padua, and completed studies in philosophy in Bologna in 1579. His father was Pasquale Magini, a citizen of Padua. Dedicating himself to astronomy, in 1582 he wrote Ephemerides coelestium motuum, translated into Italian the following year.

In 1588 he was chosen over Galileo Galilei to occupy the chair of mathematics at the University of Bologna after the death of Egnatio Danti. He died in Bologna. Magini supported a geocentric system of the world, in preference to Copernicus's heliocentric system. Magini devised his own planetary theory, in preference to other existing ones. The Maginian System consisted of eleven rotating spheres, which he described in his Novo colestium orbium theoric congruentes cum observationibus N. Copernici (Venice, 1589).

In his De Planis Triangulis (1592), he described the use of quadrants in surveying and astronomy. In 1592 Magini published Tabula tetragonica, and in 1606 devised extremely accurate trigonometric tables. He also worked on the geometry of the sphere and applications of trigonometry, for which he invented calculating devices. He also worked on the problem of mirrors and published on the theory of concave spherical mirrors. Framed 38cm x 30.5cm  read more

Code: 19811