A Beautiful Suit of Edo Samurai Armour in Gold and Black Lacquer With Blue and Black Lacing, Multi Plate Helmet with Dragon Fly Fukegaeshi, With Ressai {Fierce Face} Menpo

This is a wonderful piece of Japanese Samurai 'art' made for warfare, in a mixture of golds and black lacquer with blue and black with multi plate kabuto {helmet} with a dragonfly on the lacquer oneach front wing, and ressai {fierce face} mento face armour, which features a kuchi hige (mustache), shiwa (facial wrinkles). Extremely collectable art that is most desirable in its own right, often stunningly used for interior decoration as an individual work of samurai art in its own right. A very good urushi lacqured embossed iron mask of 'Me no Shita Men' (half face) type.

Gold and black lacquer do with blue lacing, kazuri with blue lacing, gold and blue laced shirokoro, kusazuri in gold lacquer and purple lacing, armoured sleeve kote.

This armour has remained untouched since it arrival in England likely over a hundred years ago, and probably for longer than that when it was in Japan, and only the two red cords have been replaced on the helmet and waist. We are leaving it exactly as is

Samurai used dragonfly motifs on their armour, clothing and weapons in hope of success in battle.

The urushi lacquer saya is in ishime stone finish pattern.

Japan was once known as the “Land of the Dragonfly”, as the Emperor Jimmu is said to have once climbed a mountain in Nara, and looking out over the land, claimed that his country was shaped like two Akitsu, the ancient name for the winged insects, mating.

Dragonflies appeared in great numbers in 1274 and again in 1281, when Kublai Khan sent his Mongol forces to conquer Japan. Both times the samurai repelled the attackers, with the aid of huge typhoons, later titled Kamikaze (the Divine Winds), that welled up, destroying the Mongol ships, saving Japan from invasion. For that reason, dragonflies were seen as bringers of divine victory.

Dragonflies never retreat, they will stop, but will always advance, which was seen as an ideal of the samurai. Further, although the modern Japanese word for dragonfly is Tombo, the old (Pre Meiji era) word for dragonfly was Katchimushi. “Katchi” means “To win”, hence dragonflies were seen as auspicious by the samurai.

Insects in general have been celebrated in Japanese culture for centuries. The Lady Who Loved Insects is a classic story of a caterpillar-collecting lady of the 12th century court; the Tamamushi, or Jewel Beetle Shrine, is a seventh century miniature temple, once shingled with 9,000 iridescent beetle forewings. In old Japanese literature, poems upon insects are to be found by thousands, Daisaburo Okumoto is director of the Fabre Insect Museum. An avid insect collector and a scholar of French literature, he has translated many of Fabre's works. He ascribes the popularity of insects in Japan to national character. It seems like Japanese eyes are like macro lenses and Western eyes are wide-angle, he says. A garden in Versailles, it's very wide and symmetrical. But Japanese gardens are continuous from the room and also very small. We feel calm when we look at small things. The medieval Japanese monk Yoshida Kenko put it this way: “If man were never to fade away like the dews of Adashino, never to vanish like the smoke over Toribeyama, how things would lose their power to move us!

In the 16th century, Japan began trading with Europe, during what would become known as the Nanban trade. This was the first time matchlock muskets were imported, and as they became mass-produced domestically, samurai needed lighter and more protective armour. As a result, a new style of armour called tosei-gusoku (gusoku), which means modern armour, appeared. After the Battle of Sekigahara and the victory of the Tokugawa, a united Japan was created and entered the so-called 'peaceful Edo period', however, then from henceforth, the shoguns promoted rivallry between his daimyo fuedal clan lords, in order for their military ambitions, attention and suspicions to be upon each other, rather than the shogun. So there were no wars, as such, for over 250 years, but, hundreds of internecine battles, thus samurai continued to combat as usual, using both plate and lamellar armour. This practice, of a version of divide and conquer, of internal factions, rather than external forces, was adopted by many despots ever since, including Sadam Hussein of Iraq, extremely efficiently, and for over 20 years in his case.

Ōyamazumi Shrine is known as a treasure house of Japanese armour. It houses 40% of Japanese armour that has been designated as a National treasure and an Important Cultural Property. Kasuga Grand Shrine is also known as a treasure house of valuable armour

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

Code: 25318

A Beautiful Samurai Wakizashi Signed Kunimune, Han Dachi Mounted, All Original Edo Koshirae and Deep Brown Urushi Lacquer Saya With Nishiji Gold With Very Rare Gold Foiled Throat

A Fine blade, in beautiful old polish, hon-zukuri form with a delightful notare hamon, plain copper habaki, signed tang, Hojoji Kunimune, Fabulous gold striped and shakudo takebori relief tiger menuki. Osukashi tsuba of triple leaves with scalloped edge

The samurai were roughly the equivalent of feudal knights. Employed by the shogun or daimyo, they were members of hereditary warrior class that followed a strict "code" that defined their clothes, armour and behaviour on the battlefield. But unlike most medieval knights, samurai warriors could read and they were well versed in Japanese art, literature and poetry.
Samurai endured for almost 700 years, from 1185 to 1867. Samurai families were considered the elite. They made up only about six percent of the population and included daimyo and the loyal soldiers who fought under them. Samurai means one who serves."
The Sengoku period Sengoku Jidai, "Warring States period") is a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war, social upheaval, and intrigue from 1467 to 1615.

The Sengoku period was initiated by the Onin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga Shogunate. Various samurai warlords and clans fought for control over Japan in the power vacuum, while the Ikkō-ikki emerged to fight against samurai rule. The arrival of Europeans in 1543 introduced the arquebus into Japanese warfare, and Japan ended its status as a tributary state of China in 1549. Oda Nobunaga dissolved the Ashikaga Shogunate in 1573 and launched a war of political unification by force, including the Ishiyama Hongan-ji War, until his death in the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582. Nobunaga's successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi completed his campaign to unify Japan and consolidated his rule with numerous influential reforms. Hideyoshi launched the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592, but their eventual failure damaged his prestige before his death in 1598. Tokugawa Ieyasu displaced Hideyoshi's young son and successor Toyotomi Hideyori at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and re-established the feudal system under the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Sengoku period ended when Toyotomi loyalists were defeated at the siege of Osaka in 1615.

The Sengoku period was named by Japanese historians after the similar but otherwise unrelated Warring States period of China.

Cherished for its infinite versatility, urushi lacquer is a distinctive art form that has spread across all facets of Japanese culture from the tea ceremony to the saya scabbards of samurai swords

Japanese artists created their own style and perfected the art of decorated lacquerware during the 8th century. Japanese lacquer skills reached its peak as early as the twelfth century, at the end of the Heian period (794-1185). This skill was passed on from father to son and from master to apprentice.

The varnish used in Japanese lacquer is made from the sap of the urushi tree, also known as the lacquer tree or the Japanese varnish tree (Rhus vernacifera), which mainly grows in Japan and China, as well as Southeast Asia. Japanese lacquer, 漆 urushi, is made from the sap of the lacquer tree. The tree must be tapped carefully, as in its raw form the liquid is poisonous to the touch, and even breathing in the fumes can be dangerous. But people in Japan have been working with this material for many millennia, so there has been time to refine the technique!

Overall in excellent condition, just a tiny defensive edge nick at the kissaki curvature. See photo four in the gallery  read more

Code: 25303

A Very Fine Napoleonic, Ist Empire, General Staff Officer's Sabre. Three Bar Hilt with Deluxe Imperial General Staff Officer's Scabbard

A fabulous Ist Empire deluxe quality Light Cavalry pattern staff officer's sabre with three bar guard hilt, called in France the "Hunter-style".

Overall in excellent plus condition for its age, with original wire bound leather grip.

During the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars the French armies had approximately 2,000,000 plus serving soldiers, of those there were around 2000 generals commanding them in the armies of France, directly under their commander-in-chief, the Emperor Napoleon. However, for example, at the Battle of Borodino, Napoleon lost 1928 of his officer's including 49 Generals, in just one day!

This sword would have been used and carried in combat by one of those officer's on Napoleon's general staff. Napoleon was, and remains, famous for his battlefield victories, and historians have spent enormous attention in analysing them.

Napoleon had numerous general staff officer's. However, a general in the field would have a relatively smaller cadre of officers supporting them.. Whether they were on Napoleon's staff or the staff of a general, their function was the same, to gather reports from field officers, précis them and ensure Napoleon and the generals have the right information. Then take Napoleon's or the general’s high level orders and ensure they get to the correct field officers, which may mean encoding them by hand.
Manage all the logistics, ensure that all the units are supplied with food, equipment and munitions.

In 2008, Donald Sutherland wrote:

The ideal Napoleonic battle was to manipulate the enemy into an unfavourable position through manoeuvre and deception, force him to commit his main forces and reserve to the main battle and then undertake an enveloping attack with uncommitted or reserve troops on the flank or rear. Such a surprise attack would either produce a devastating effect on morale, or force him to weaken his main battle line. Either way, the enemy's own impulsiveness began the process by which even a smaller French army could defeat the enemy's forces one by one.

After 1807, Napoleon's creation of a highly mobile, well-armed artillery force gave artillery usage increased tactical importance. Napoleon, rather than relying on infantry to wear away the enemy's defences, could now use massed artillery as a spearhead to pound a break in the enemy's line. Once that was achieved he sent in infantry and cavalry. The Napoleonic Wars brought radical changes to Europe, but the reactionary forces returned to power and tried to reverse some of them by restoring the Bourbon house on the French throne. Napoleon had succeeded in bringing most of Western Europe under one rule. In most European countries, subjugation in the French Empire brought with it many liberal features of the French Revolution including democracy, due process in courts, abolition of serfdom, reduction of the power of the Catholic Church, and a demand for constitutional limits on monarchs. The increasing voice of the middle classes with rising commerce and industry meant that restored European monarchs found it difficult to restore pre-revolutionary absolutism and had to retain many of the reforms enacted during Napoleon's rule. Institutional legacies remain to this day in the form of civil law, with clearly defined codes of law an enduring legacy of the Napoleonic Code.

While Napoleon is best known as a master strategist and charismatic presence on the battlefield, he was also a tactical innovator. He combined classic formations and tactics that had been used for thousands of years with more recent ones, such as Frederick the Great's "Oblique Order" (best illustrated at the Battle of Leuthen) and the "mob tactics" of the early Levée en masse armies of the Revolution. Napoleonic tactics and formations were highly fluid and flexible. In contrast, many of the Grande Armée's opponents were still wedded to a rigid system of "Linear" (or Line) tactics and formations, in which masses of infantry would simply line up and exchange vollies of fire, in an attempt to either blow the enemy from the field or outflank them. Due to the vulnerabilities of the line formations to flanking attacks, it was considered the highest form of military manoeuvre to outflank one's adversary. Armies would often retreat or even surrender if this was accomplished. Consequently, commanders who adhered to this system would place a great emphasis on flank security, often at the expense of a strong centre or reserve. Napoleon would frequently take full advantage of this linear mentality by feigning flank attacks or offering the enemy his own flank as "bait" (best illustrated at the Battle of Austerlitz and also later at Lützen), then throw his main effort against their centre, split their lines, and roll up their flanks. He always kept a strong reserve as well, mainly in the form of his Imperial Guard, which could deliver a "knockout blow" if the battle was going well or turn the tide if it was not.

Overall the condition is stunning . The scabbard's inner and outer side has just a very few surface contact bruises. In the 20th century generals plotted campaigns and were not often in the thick of combat. In the Napoleonic wars era general staff officers fought, more often than not alongside their men in hand to hand combat, hence, Napoleon lost so many of his general staff officers.  read more

Code: 25315

A Beautiful, Original, 16th Cent. Italian Knight’s ‘Close’ Helmet From William Randolph Hearst’s Castle, San Simeon Formerly the Most Famous Private Museum Collection in the World. He Was Portrayed in Orson Welles Film Masterpiece ‘Citizen Caine’.

Although Orson Welles, possibly the greatest genius filmmaker Hollywood ever produced, hid the depiction of W.R. Hearst as the near despotic millionaire fictional character Charles Foster Caine, in his masterpiece, not a single person ever believed it not to be a depiction of Hearst, {least of all Hearst himself} thus, it resulted in Orson to be, possibly the first, movie star and director to be effectively ‘cancelled’, and his career henceforth was thus ruined and destroyed by Hearst’s media empire. Many believed, and some still do, this was the greatest tragedy to befall Hollywood film making in its 20th century history. Like the death of Mozart in his youthful prime, when mentioned, Orson Welles, is often followed by one of the saddest of remarks “what might have been?”.

A similar form of helmet is illustrated in the *treatise of René of Anjou, Duke of Anjou, Count of Provence, King of Jerusalem and Sicily. See picture of the similar helmet from the treatise in the gallery.

A fine original close helmet, probably Italian, with funerary face visor. Fine original brass rose head rivets. The front visor was adapted when the knight perished and this helm would have been mounted above his tomb with his achievements, in circa 1590, likely with his sword. Such as two other helmets *King Henry Vth (d. 1422), buried in Westminster Abbey. Set up over the dead king’s monument until the 20th century was his funerary helmet, a finely decorated jousting helm, now kept in the abbey museum.

Edward the Black Prince or Edward of Woodstock (15 June 1330 - 8 June 1376), eldest son of Edward III, King of England. Dating from 1376 his funerary visored helmet is to be found above his funerary monument in Canterbury Cathedral.

This helmet we offer is a stunning piece with amazing provenance, was owned by one of the greatest yet notorious men in world publishing history. William Randolph Hearst ( April 29, 1863 - August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper Mogul, a publisher who built the nation’s largest newspaper chain and whose methods profoundly influenced American journalism. His collecting took his agents around the Europe to acquire the finest treasures available, for his project of building the largest and finest private estate in the world, Hearst Castle in San Simeon. In much of this he succeeded. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887 after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father. Moving to New York City, he acquired The New York Journal and engaged in a bitter circulation war with Joseph Pulitzer's New York World that led to the creation of yellow journalism sensationalized stories of dubious veracity. Acquiring more newspapers, Hearst created a chain that numbered nearly 30 papers in major American cities at its peak. He later expanded to magazines, creating the largest newspaper and magazine business in the world.

He was twice elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives, and ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of New York City in 1905 and 1909, for Governor of New York in 1906, and for Lieutenant Governor of New York in 1910. Nonetheless, through his newspapers and magazines, he exercised enormous political influence, and was famously blamed for pushing public opinion with his yellow journalism type of reporting leading the United States into a war with Spain in 1898.

His life story was the main inspiration for the development of the lead character in Orson Welles's film Citizen Kane. His mansion, Hearst Castle, on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean near San Simeon, California, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, was donated by the Hearst Corporation to the state of California in 1957, and is now a State Historical Monument and a National Historic Landmark, open for public tours. Hearst formally named the estate La Cuesta Encantada (The Enchanted Slope), but he usually just called it the ranch. This helmet was acquired by Hearst for his mansion, Hearst Castle, but when his empire began to crumble much of his collection was sold at Gimbels In New York in 1941, which is where the Higgins Armory acquired this helmet. Orson Welles film, Citizen Kane, is thought by many to be one of the greatest masterpieces of film ever made, and it's portrayal of Charles Foster Kane was so mirroring WR Hearst that there was no doubt in any mind what it was meant to represent. So much so, Hearst dedicated some considerable time and effort during the next 10 years in order to destroy Orson Welles' career, and prevent him fulfilling his obvious potential as one of the greatest directors of all time. In much of this, once more, Hearst succeeded. Items from Hearst's collection rarely surface, as owners tend to keep hold of them for obvious reasons of historical posterity and provenance, and to be able to offer such a piece from that collection is a great privilege, and a rare opportunity for it's next fortunate owner.

*Ref; The saddle, helmet, sword and shield of King Henry V, which once formed part of his funeral 'achievements', are displayed in Westminster Abbey Museum, located in the abbey's eleventh century vaulted undercroft of St Peter. They were carried at his funeral in 1422 and later suspended on the wooden beam above the Henry V chantry for centuries, but in 1972 they were restored and placed in the abbey museum.
We show in the gallery an illustration from ‘Traictie de la Forme et Devis D'ung Tournoy’, that was written circa 1460 by King Rene of Anjou, King of Jerusalem and Sicily. The tournament book shows how a helmet, such as this one, would have been dressed for the tournament and it describes a style of tournament which Rene says he has adapted from the ancient customs of France and other countries.  read more

Code: 22346

A Most Elegant Equestrian Walking Stick Cum Dandy Cane

Finely carved handle of a horses hoof and fetlock. The stick is a superb close grain hardwood. Overall in super condition. Every other portrait of a Georgian, Victorian, or Edwardian gentleman, shows some nattily dressed fellow with a walking stick pegged jauntily into the ground or a slim baton negligently tucked under the elbow. The dress cane was the quintessential mark of the dandy for three centuries, part fashion accessory, part aid to communication, part weapon, and of course, a walking aid. A dandy, historically, is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of self. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle despite coming from a middle-class background, especially in late 18th- and early 19th-century Britain.

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

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

The linkage of clothing with political protest had become a particularly English characteristic during the 18th century. Given these connotations, dandyism can be seen as a political protest against the levelling effect of egalitarian principles, often including nostalgic adherence to feudal or pre-industrial values, such as the ideals of "the perfect gentleman" or "the autonomous aristocrat". Paradoxically, the dandy required an audience, as Susann Schmid observed in examining the "successfully marketed lives" of Oscar Wilde and Lord Byron, who exemplify the dandy's roles in the public sphere, both as writers and as personae providing sources of gossip and scandal. Nigel Rodgers in The Dandy: Peacock or Enigma? Questions Wilde's status as a genuine dandy, seeing him as someone who only assumed a dandified stance in passing, not a man dedicated to the exacting ideals of dandyism. 36.5 inches long  read more

Code: 23211

Very Rare, London Published, 1616 Coryate's Traveller for the English Wits

An incredible book for the seasoned explorer-traveller. Written by the first Englishman [and Elizabethan] to do so, simply for the joy of travelling to unvisited parts, and first published in 1616. Tom Coryate is known as only the second Englishman to visit India, and the first ever traveller of the so called Grand Tour. The man, that history accredits, who introduced dinner forks to the English speaking world. This superb tome is entitled 'Greeting from the court of the Great Moghul, and resident in Asmere a town in Eastern India'. By Tom Coliate. A seemingly small book, composed of numerous letters, sent in the early 1600's to his English friends, from India. They were various gentleman of note and standing, including the Master of the Rolles in Chancery Lane and to the "Fraternity of Sireniacal Gentlemen" at the Mermaid Inn. Coriates Traveller for the English Wits; Greetings from the court of the most mighty monarch, the Great Moghul. Publ London 1616. Very rare, original, early 18th century copy. It has many border annotations and quotes, made by an owner, some in ancient Greek, and additions affixed on the inside cover including old bookseller advertisements. The original and first 1616 printing is now so rare that we do not know of another coming on to the market in the last ten years, and today, if one was to appear it would be not unreasonable to attract a likely price of ?20,000. In 1912 another of his published books the earlier Cortyate's Crudities sold for the princely sum of ?45, the equivalent today of the paid employment of a household of servants for one year. Thomas Coriate traveller for the English wits, greeting: from the court of the Great Mogul, resident at the Towne of Asmere, in Easterne India ([London]: 1616), p.27. The remarkable and eccentric Coryate (1577-1617) was only the second Englishman to visit India simply out of curiosity, a journey of some 3,300 miles, most of which he accomplished on foot. In a letter to his mother in England Coryates writes, 'I have rid upon an elephant since I came to this Court, determining one day (by Gods leave) to have my picture expressed in my next Booke, sitting upon an elephant' (p.26). Coryat was born in Crewkerne, Somerset, and lived most of his life in the Somerset village of Odcombe. He was a son of George Coryate (d. 1607). He was educated at Winchester College from 1591, and at Gloucester Hall, Oxford from 1596 to 1599. He was employed by Prince Henry, eldest son of James I as a sort of "court jester" from 1603 to 1607, alongside Ben Jonson, John Donne and Inigo Jones.

From May to October 1608 he undertook a tour of Europe, somewhat less than half of which he walked. He travelled through France and Italy to Venice, and returned via Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. He published his memoirs of the events in a volume entitled Coryat's Crudities hastily gobbled up in Five Months Travels in France, Italy, &c' (1611). In 1611 he published a second volume of travel writings, this one entitled Coryats Crambe, or his Coleworte twice Sodden. Coryat's letters from this time refer to the famous Mermaid Tavern in London, and mention Ben Jonson, John Donne and other members of a drinking club "Fraternity of Sireniacal Gentlemen" that met there.

Ever restless, he set out once again in 1612, this time on a journey that would ultimately lead to Asia, visiting Greece, the eastern Mediterranean including Constantinople by 1614, and walking through Turkey, Persia and eventually Moghul India by 1615, visiting the Emperor Jahangir's court in Ajmer, Rajasthan. From Agra and elsewhere he sent letters describing his experiences; this very book his Greetings from the Court of the Great Mogul was published in London in 1616, and a similar volume of his letters home appeared posthumously in 1618. In September 1617, at the invitation of Sir Thomas Roe, he visited the imperial court at Mandu, Madhya Pradesh. In November 1617 he left for Surat; he died of dysentery there in December of that year, his demise hastened by the consumption of sack. Though his planned account of the journey was never to be, some of his unorganized travel notes have survived and found their way back to England. These were published in the 1625 edition of Samuel Purchas's Hakluytus Posthumus or Purchas his Pilgrimes, contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells, by Englishmen and others.

Coryat's writings were hugely popular at the time. His accounts of inscriptions, many of which are now lost, were valuable; and his accounts of Italian customs and manners?including the use of the table fork?were influential in England at a time when other aspects of Italian culture, such as the madrigal, had already been in vogue for more than twenty years. He is considered by many to have been the first Briton to do a Grand Tour of Europe; a practice which became a mainstay of the education of upper class Englishmen in the 18th century.  read more

Code: 20700

Original 18th Century Scottish Fencible Regimental Basket Hilted Broadsword

With distinctive two part centrally welded basket, in sheet iron, with scrolls and thistles there over. Interesting original regimental swords of the 18th century, from Scottish regiments are very much sought after throughout the entire world. Scottish Fencible Regiment's swords are now jolly rare indeed, and they are highly distinctive in their most unique form. Fancy carved replacement grip. Some ironwork separation on the basket by the forte of the blade, but overall in good sound condition. Overall natural age surface pitting. Made for the war with Revolutionary France in the 1790's. The total number of British fencible infantry regiments raised during the Seven Years' War and the American War of Independence was nine, of which six were Scottish, two were English and one was Manx. The regiments were raised during a time of great turbulence in Europe when there was a real fear that the French would either invade Great Britain or Ireland, or that radicals within Britain and Ireland would rebel against the established order. There was little to do in Britain other than garrison duties and some police actions, but in Ireland there was a French supported insurrection in 1798 and British fencible regiments were engaged in some pitched battles. Some regiments served outside Great Britain and Ireland. Several regiments performed garrison duties on the Channel Islands and Gibraltar. A detachment of the Dumbarton Fencibles Regiment escorted prisoners to Prussia, and the Ancient Irish Fencibles were sent to Egypt where they took part in the operations against the French in 1801.

When it became clear that the rebellion in Ireland had been defeated and that there would be peace between France and Britain in 1802 (The preliminaries of peace were signed in London on 1 October 1801) the Fencible regiments were disbanded.
The British cavalry and light dragoon regiments were raised to serve in any part of Great Britain and consisted of a force of between 14,000 and 15,000 men. Along with the two Irish regiments, those British regiments that volunteered for service in Ireland served there. Each regiment consisted of eighteen commissioned officers and troops of eighty privates per troop. The regiments were always fully manned as their terms of service were considered favourable. At the beginning of 1800 all of the regiments were disbanded  read more

Code: 20632

A Spectacular & Beautiful 'Harvey' British Dragoon Basket Hilted Sword, Culloden Period, With Large King George's Crown & Cypher Engraved Blade Museum Grade Example

As used by the Scot's Dragoon's and the 7th Queens Dragoons, in fact all the British heavy dragoons in the 1740's up to 1790's. From the Battle of Culloden until the American Revolutionary War in the 1770's.

Likely made by the world famous English blade maker of his day, Samuel Harvey, and bearing the royal GR Cypher of King George. The Harvey surname was one of the marks of renown Birmingham maker, Samuel Harvey, 1718-1778, who supplied many basket hilted swords to the British Crown, mostly for use by Highland troops. This sword is marked with the surname alone, HARVEY below the Crown and Cypher [the overlapping monogram of GR] for King George. His more common mark was a running wolf, his other marks could be Harvey or S.Harvey. The fabulous basket hilt has the large oval ring insert, for the holding of the horses reins while gripping the sword when riding to battle, and part of the original buff hide basket liner. Wire bound fishskin grip, discoid pommel.

The British dragoon regiments were a decisive force in the Battle of Culloden for example; At the close of the battle the stand by the Royal Ecossais may have given Charles Edward Stuart the time to make his escape. At the time when the Macdonald regiments were crumbling and fleeing the field, Stuart seems to have been rallying Perth's and Glenbuchat's regiments when O'Sullivan rode up to Captain Shea who commanded Stuart's bodyguard: "Yu see all is going to pot. Yu can be of no great succor, so before a general deroute wch will soon be, Seize upon the Prince & take him off ". Shea then led Stuart from the field along with Perth's and Glenbuchat's regiments. From this point on the fleeing Jacobite forces were split into two groups: the Lowland regiments retired in order southwards, making their way to Ruthven Barracks; the Highland regiments however were cut off by the government cavalry, and forced to retreat down the road to Inverness. The result was that they were a perfect target for the government dragoons. Major-general Humphrey Bland led the charge against the fleeing Highlanders, giving "Quarter to None but about Fifty French Officers and Soldiers He picked up in his Pursuit". The basket hilted sword of this very form and character were used by British heavy dragoons for several decades, importantly in the American Revolutionary war. There is a near identical sword by Harvey, bearing the same form of maker mark and crown GR in a collection of American War of Independence weaponry featured in "Swords and Blades of the American Revolution" by George C. Neumann. Page 148 sword 261s
The shortage of cavalry in the Revolutionary War was a major drawback for the British. A strong cavalry presence at battles like Long Island and Brandywine could have enabled the British to encircle the Americans and prevent their retreat. It is possible that a strong cavalry force would have captured Washington's army entirely during the march south through New Jersey in 1776. This is the form of sword used by the Scot's Greys Dragoons in the 7 Years War against France, and by the 7th Queen's Dragoons. One of the earliest basket-hilted swords was recovered from the wreck of the Mary Rose, an English warship lost in 1545. Before the find, the earliest positive dating had been two swords from around the time of the English Civil War. At first the wire guard was a simple design but as time passed it became increasingly sculpted and ornate. During the 18th century, the fashion of duelling in Europe focused on the lighter smallsword, and fencing with the broadsword came to be seen as a speciality of Scotland. A number of fencing manuals teaching fencing with the Scottish broadsword were published throughout the 18th century. Portraits from the time show this very sword as worn. 35 3/4 inch blade length  read more

Code: 21608

A Fine French Consular Period Sabre of A Cavalry Officer, With 'Marengo' Hilt. A Sabre D'Officier De Cavalrie Legere, By Repute, Said To Be The Privilege of Officer's To Wear That Served At Marengo With Napoleon

A very fine and rare example, in very fine condition for age, with a few usual scabbard combat bruises.

Modelled after Napoleon’s sabre, re-named by him the Marengo sabre, that he used from the battle of the Nile and at Marengo during his defeat of the Austrians. He presented it to his brother Jerome who was crowned King of Westphalia.
Napoleon ordered a sword to be commissioned based on his own sabre and presented it as a Sword of Honour to Captain Blou for his important and vital service at Marengo, and that sword is near identical to this sword that we offer. See photo 10 in the gallery. Napoleon’s Marengo sword was sold at auction in 2007 for $6.5 million dollars.

Sabre D'Officier De Cavalrie Legere, 1800 circa, with the 'Marengo' pattern hilt, and double fullered Montmorency pattern blade. A fabulous French Sabre from the French consular period.

An original Consular period, 'Marengo' style light cavalry officer's sabre, with very fine and bright Montmorency-style blade one-third beautifully engraved with an incised decoration of weapon trophies and foliage, gilt bronze hilt, mellon pattern pommel, single guard branch with a side engraved with a farandole of foliage, the front side has a V-shaped groove, the rear side has a concave gutter, basal half ear, quillon arched towards the front with button ending, cross hatched carved wooden grip, in its origina sheet brass scabbard, two large brass bands each carrying a supension ring,

These styles are said to have gained popularity following Consular Napoleon's victory over the Austrians in Jun 1800 at the Battle of Marengo. French sword cutlers purportedly drew their inspiration from the sabre carried by Napoleon during the campaign.

It has been claimed that only officers who had participated in the battle with Napoleon were permitted to carry this style of hilt, although there is no official recognition of this claim.

The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy. Near the end of the day, the French overcame General Michael von Melas' surprise attack, drove the Austrians out of Italy and consolidated Bonaparte's political position in Paris as First Consul of France in the wake of his coup d'état the previous November.

Bonaparte needed to depart for Paris urgently and the next morning sent Berthier on a surprise visit to Austrian headquarters. Within 24 hours of the battle, Melas entered into negotiations (the Convention of Alessandria) which led to the Austrians evacuating northwestern Italy west of the Ticino, and suspending military operations in Italy.

Bonaparte's position as First Consul was strengthened by the successful outcome of the battle and the preceding campaign. After this victory, Napoleon could breathe a sigh of relief. The generals who had been hostile to him could see that his luck had not abandoned him. Thus, he had surpassed Schérer, Joubert, Championnet, and even Moreau, none of whom having been able to inflict a decisive blow on the Coalition. Moreau's victory at Hohenlinden, which was the one that in reality had put an end to the war, was minimised by Bonaparte who, from then on, would pose as a saviour of the fatherland, and even of the Republic. He rejected offers from Louis XVIII, who had considered the Consulate to be a mere transition toward the restoration of the king. Thanks to the victory at Marengo, Napoleon could finally set about reforming France according to his own vision.

Napoleon ordered that several ships of the French Navy be named Marengo, including Sceptre (1780), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1795), Ville de Paris (1851) and Marengo (1810). In 1802, the Marengo department was named in the honour of the battle. Furthermore, Napoleon's mount throughout the battle was named Marengo and further carried the Emperor in the Battle of Austerlitz, Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, Battle of Wagram, and Battle of Waterloo.  read more

Code: 25313

An Exceptionally Beautiful & Fine, Koto Period, Armour and Helmet Piercing Samurai Yoroi-Doshi Tanto, With All Original Edo Koshirae Fittings Shakudo, Iron Tettsu, Silver, and Gold

Circa 1580. With two hi horimono on one side and a ken blade horimono suken (素剣) on the opposite side {omote} the side of the sword away from the body as it is worn. The opposite side is called the ura or back.

Beautiful notare hamon, strong and wide kasane thickness of the blade for the required strength to penetrate iron armour and helmet skull. Superb fuchi kashira higo school in low relief takebori of gold inlay on iron. Urushi black lacquer saya, with carved buffalo horn koiguchi, the lacquer is lightly carved with a decor of clouds throughout, with speckles of abilone shell to simulate stars behind the clouds. shakudo and silvered menuki of bean pods. Iron kogatana with iron kozuka inlaid with gold stars and seashells with stylized clouds, iron tettsu tsuba with inlay of gold tendrils and silver aoi leaf, and a pair of crenellated form seppa.Very fine shakudo habaki

The yoroi-doshi "armour piercer" or "mail piercer" were one of the traditionally made Japanese swords (nihonto) that were worn by the samurai class as a weapon in feudal Japan. The yoroi-doshi is an extra thick tanto, dagger , which appeared in the Sengoku period (late Muromachi). The yoroi-doshi was made for piercing armour and for stabbing while grappling in close quarters. The weapon ranged in size from 20 cm to 24 cm, but some examples could be under 15 cm, with a "tapering mihaba, iori-mune, thick kasane at the bottom, and thin kasane at the top and occasionally moroha-zukuri construction". The motogasane (blade thickness) at the hamachi (the notch at the beginning of the cutting edge) can be a third to up to a half-inch thick, which is characteristic of the yoroi-doshi. The extra thickness at the spine of the blade distinguishes the yoroi-doshi from a standard tanto blade.

Yoroi-doshi were worn inside the belt on the back or on the right side with the hilt toward the front and the edge upward. Due to being worn on the right, the blade would have been drawn using the left hand, giving rise to the alternate name of metezashi or "horse-hand (i.e. rein-hand, i.e. left-hand) blade".

23 cm blade tsuba to tip  read more

Code: 25302