A Fabulous, Extraordinarily Beautiful and Exquisite Quality Pure Koftgari Gold Inlaid Gentleman’s Walking Stick ‘Dandy Cane’ Inlaid With Incredibly Skillful Craftmanship

One of the most beautiful and finest quality examples we have ever seen. A steel handle inlaid with amazing two colour Koftgari goldwork of simply stunning quality. Koftgari is the Indian form of damascening which closely resembles the damascening found in Persia and Syria.

The inlay process begins after the piece is moulded and fully formed. The intended design is engraved into the base metal and fine gold or silver wire is then hammered into the grooves.

The base metal is always a hard metal, either steel, iron or bronze, and the inlay a soft metal, either gold or silver. This combination prevents the base from deforming when the wire inlay is hammered into the surface and results in the inlaid areas being well defined and of sharp appearance.

Swords, shield and armour were often decorated in koftgari work and domestic items such as boxes and betel containers, were also made. 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-maître (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". Honoré de Balzac introduced the perfectly worldly and unmoved Henri de Marsay in La fille aux yeux d'or (1835), a part of La Comédie 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 æsthetics 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.  read more

Code: 23513

A Superb 1200b.c. Bronze Age Long Dagger From the So-Called Greek 'Heroic Era' Of The Seige of Troy, and The Trojan War, Historically Famed with the Legendary Achilles and Hector

Around 3200 years old
A bronze flanged dagger with integrally preserved bifurcated hilt, triangular blade, the open handle intended to accept organic grip plates of wood or horn bifurcated pommel. Approx 12" long. Fine condition
This is a most handsome ancient bronze long bladed dagger, with a tapering hilt and crescent pommel form, from one of the most fascinating eras in ancient world history, the era of the so called Trojan Wars. The recessed grip panels within the hilt would likely be for slabs of ivory or horn. The ancient Greeks believed the Trojan War was a historical event that had taken place in the 13th or 12th century BC, and believed that Troy was located in modern day Turkey near the Dardanelles. In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey . "The Iliad" relates a part of the last year of the siege of Troy, while the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the Achaean leaders. Other parts of the war were told in a cycle of epic poems, which has only survived in fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets such as Virgil and Ovid.

The war originated from a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite, after Eris, the goddess of strife and discord, gave them a golden apple, sometimes known as the Apple of Discord, marked "for the fairest". Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite, as the "fairest", should receive the apple. In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women and wife of Menelaus, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and the brother of Helen's husband Menelaus, led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years due to Paris' insult. After the deaths of many heroes, including the Achaeans Achilles and Ajax, and the Trojans Hector and Paris, the city fell to the ruse of the Trojan Horse. The Achaeans slaughtered the Trojans (except for some of the women and children whom they kept or sold as slaves) and desecrated the temples, thus earning the gods' wrath. Few of the Achaeans returned safely to their homes and many founded colonies in distant shores. The Romans later traced their origin to Aeneas, one of the Trojans, who was said to have led the surviving Trojans to modern day Italy.

This dagger comes from that that great historical period, from the time of the birth of known recorded history, and the formation of great empires, the cradle of civilization, known as The Mycenaean Age, of 1600 BC to 1100 BC. Known as the Bronze Age, it started even centuries before the time of Herodotus, who was known throughout the world as the father of history. Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece from which the name Mycenaean Age is derived. The Mycenae site is located in the Peloponnese of Southern Greece. The remains of a Mycenaean palace were found at this site, accounting for its importance. Other notable sites during the Mycenaean Age include Athens, Thebes, Pylos and Tiryns.
According to Homer, the Mycenaean civilization is dedicated to King Agamemnon who led the Greeks in the Trojan War. The palace found at Mycenae matches Homer's description of Agamemnon's residence. The amount and quality of possessions found at the graves at the site provide an insight to the affluence and prosperity of the Mycenaean civilization. Prior to the Mycenaean's ascendancy in Greece, the Minoan culture was dominant. However, the Mycenaeans defeated the Minoans, acquiring the city of Troy in the process. In the greatest collections of the bronze age there are swords and daggers exactly as this beautiful example. In the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the bronze sword of King Adad-nirari I, a unique example from the palace of one of the early kings of the period (14th-13th century BC) during which Assyria first began to play a prominent part in Mesopotamian history. Swords daggers and weapons from this era were made within the Persian bronze industry, which was also influenced by Mesopotamia. Luristan, near the western border of Persia, it is the source of many bronzes, such as this piece, that have been dated from 1500 to 500 BC and include chariot or harness fittings, rein rings, elaborate horse bits, and various decorative rings, as well as weapons, personal ornaments, different types of cult objects, and a number of household vessels.

A sword, found in the palace of Mallia and dated to the Middle Minoan period (2000-1600 BC), is an example of the extraordinary skill of the Cretan metalworker in casting bronze. The hilt of the sword is of gold-plated ivory and crystal. A dagger blade found in the Lasithi plain, dating about 1800 BC (Metropolitan Museum of Art), is the earliest known predecessor of ornamented dagger blades from Mycenae. It is engraved with two spirited scenes: a fight between two bulls and a man spearing a boar. Somewhat later (c. 1400 BC) are a series of splendid blades from mainland Greece, which must be attributed to Cretan craftsmen, with ornament in relief, incised, or inlaid with varicoloured metals, gold, silver, and niello. The most elaborate inlays--pictures of men hunting lions and of cats hunting birds--are on daggers from the shaft graves of Mycenae, Nilotic scenes showing Egyptian influence. The bronze was oxidized to a blackish-brown tint; the gold inlays were hammered in and polished and the details then engraved on them. The gold was in two colours, a deeper red being obtained by an admixture of copper; and there was a sparing use of neillo. The copper and gold most likely came from the early mine centres, in and around Mesopotamia, and the copper ingots exported to the Cretans for their master weapon makers. This dagger sword is in very nice condition with typical ancient patina encrustations . 36 cm long. Picture in the gallery of Achilles and Penthesella on the Plain of Troy, with Athena, Aphrodite and Eros. See a similar dagger in Muscarella, O.W., Bronze and Iron Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1988, pp.286-287, with the gold pommel still preserved; see also parallels in Calmeyer, P., 'Datierbare bronzen aus Luristan und Kirmanshah' in Untersuchungen sur Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archaeologie, Berlin, 1969.

These flanged type of daggers with bifurcated hilts find parallels in ancient Persia, and are usually dated to the 11th century BC (Calmeyer, 1969, p.61, figs.60-61). Related examples from Hasanlu have a more pronounced splayed pommel and a square guard.
Formerly of the Abelita family collection, 1980-2015.  read more

Code: 24103

Intriguing New Additions For This Coming Week. Original Viking Antiquities, Japanese Samurai Tsubas, WW2 Tommy Helmets, Plus So Much More!

Due to our unique, generations long presence, visitors, in their hundreds of thousands from all around the globe travel to Brighton every year, through every season, and visit our gallery whether to buy, sell or simply view.
Consequently this means that every day, descendants of old war veterans from past wars may bring their treasures and heirlooms to sell, or even just to enquire about their potential story if they are unknown to them. If we can help we are delighted to assist, and we never, ever charge. It is entirely free and offered with the greatest of pleasure, in fact it happens often over 50 times a day, week in week out.  read more

Code: 25855

A Simply Wonderful 16th Century Koto Era Katana, Museum Quality Mounting, With Shakudo & Pure Gold Decorated Menuki of Takeda Shingen in Armour With His Tiger’s Tail Saya Mounted Sword & War Bow

Circa 1580. All original Edo period koshirae fittings and beautiful original Edo cinnabar urushi lacquer saya. The wrap is original Edo lacquered tooled leather over two wonderful pure gold decorated menuki of two armoured menuki, they are likely Takeda Shingen with his distinctive swords saya Mede from a tiger’s tail, and he wears a court cap helmet. The tsuba is a very fine nanban lobed mokko gata tsuba of wonderful dragon form also decorated with gold. The kashira is a kubutogane type, is a pure gold decorated shakudo, and the the fuchi has a takebori superb quality dragon, on a nanako ground.

Nanako Ji: "fish roe ground" A surface decoration produced by forming very small raised bosses by a sharply struck punch or burin called 'nanako tagane'. Shakudo is the metal most often used, but copper and gold are quite often employed. The harder metals, shibuichi, silver and iron are rarely decorated in this way. The size of the dots vary from 0.04" to 0.008" (25 to 125 and inch) and the regularity of the work is marvelous as the dots must be spaced entirely by touch. The dots are usually arranged in straight lines or in lines parallel to the edge of the piece being decorated, but sometimes in more elaborate patterns. Used on guards since the Momoyama period although the technique existed since much earlier periods. Usually done by specialist 'nanako-shi', but sometimes done by the maker of the guard himself.

The blade has a joyful and elaborate gunome hamon and a hammered silver over copper habaki. The saya is in bulls blood red urushi lacquer, with polished buffalo horn fittings

The first mention of the word "katana" occurred during Japan's Kamakura Period (1185 to 1333). Back then, the word was used to describe a long sword with similar characteristics as the tachi but with a few nuances. The katana, for instance, generally had a longer, more curved blade than its tachi counterpart. Most importantly, however, the katana was stronger and more powerful than the tachi. The Kamakura and Muromachi periods
These two periods are considered as the most important periods of the Samurai sword's development history. Though the exact time frames for these periods is debated the period from 1185 to 1336 was known as the Kamakura while the period from 1337 to 1573 was referred to as the Muromachi period. During these periods, there were many invasions in Japan. As a result, there was need for an effective sword to fend off invaders successfully.

During battle the Japanese warriors found that it was very difficult to draw the old ken straight sword from the scabbard (saya) while fighting on a horseback. Consequently, during the Muromachi period, smiths developed the curved katana sword which was more functional during horseback fighting. Because of the design and effective cutting angles, a Samurai could easily draw their sword from the scabbard and slash their opponents in a single swing. 27.5 inch blade from tsuba to tip.  read more

Code: 21721

A Beautiful Koto Period Ancient Aikuchi Tanto Circa 1500, With An Equally Beautiful Blade

Around 500 years old.

With kodzuka utility knife decorated with deep relief takebori crabs. Unusually the saya is covered with black lacquered leather. All original Edo period mounts and fittings. Silver inlaid iron hilt mounts with patinated copper menuki of shishi liondogs. The saya has a small mount of a silver inlaid quail. The blade has now just returned from re-polishing and looks absolutely beautiful. The tanto was invented partway through the Heian period, when it was mainly used as a weapon. With the beginning of the Kamakura period, tanto were forged to be more aesthetically pleasing, and hira and uchi-sori tanto were the most popular styles for wars in the kamakura period. Near the middle of the Kamakura period, more tanto artisans were seen, increasing the abundance of the weapon, and the kanmuri-otoshi style became prevalent in the cities of Kyoto and Yamato. Because of the style introduced by the tachi in the late Kamakura period, tanto began to be forged longer and wider. The introduction of the Hachiman faith became visible in the carvings in the tanto hilts around this time. The hamon (line of temper) is similar to that of the tachi, except for the absence of choji-midare, which is nioi and utsuri. Gunomi-midare and suguha are found to have taken its place. In Nambokucho, the tanto were forged to be up to forty centimetres as opposed to the normal one shaku (about thirty centimetres) length. The tanto blades became thinner between the uri and the omote, and wider between the ha and mune. At this point in time, two styles of hamon were prevalent: the older style, which was subtle and artistic, and the newer, more popular style. Blades could be of exceptional quality. As the end of the period neared, the average blade narrowed and the sori became shallow. The aikuchi is a tanto koshirae where the fuchi is flush with the mouth of the saya. Overall 21 3/4 inches long, blade length 12 1/4 inches  read more

Code: 23142

1st Edition James Bond, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, by Ian Fleming. Part of The ‘Blofeld’ Sequence. The Most Infamous Villain In The James Bond Canon. Written By Fleming at ‘Goldeneye’ Whilst Sean Connery Was Filming His First Bond, “Dr. No” Nearby

Part of another small collection of James Bond First Editions that just arrived at the weekend, including James Bond’s Ist outing and rarest of them all, a stunning ‘Casino Royale’ 1st Edition, 1st impression. It sold within 10 minutes of going on sale!


1st Edition, 1st impression. Published by London: Jonathan Cape. 1963 original cover. (1963) On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the tenth novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 1 April 1963. The initial and secondary print runs sold out, with over 60,000 books sold in the first month. Fleming wrote the book in Jamaica whilst the first film in the Eon Productions series of films, Dr. No, was being filmed nearby.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the second book in what is known as the "Blofeld trilogy", which begins with Thunderball and concluded with You Only Live Twice. The story centres on Bond's ongoing search to find Ernst Stavro Blofeld after the Thunderball incident; through contact with the College of Arms in London Bond finds Blofeld based in Switzerland. After meeting him and discovering his latest plans, Bond attacks the centre where he is based, although Blofeld escapes in the confusion. Bond meets and falls in love with Contessa Teresa "Tracy" di Vicenzo during the story. The pair marry at the end of the story but Blofeld kills Bond's wife, hours after the ceremony.

Fleming made a number of revelations about Bond's character within the book, including showing an emotional side that was not present in the previous stories. In common with Fleming's other Bond stories, he used the names and places of people he knew or had heard of and Blofeld's research station on Piz Gloria was based on Schloss Mittersill, which the Nazis had turned into a research establishment examining the Asiatic races.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service received broadly good reviews in the British and American press. The novel was adapted to run as a three-part story in Playboy in 1963 and then as a daily comic strip in the Daily Express newspaper in 1964–1965. In 1969 the novel was adapted as the sixth film in the Eon Productions James Bond film series and was the only film to star George Lazenby as Bond. On Her Majesty's Secret Service was written in Jamaica at Fleming's Goldeneye estate in January and February 1962, whilst the first Bond film, Dr. No was being filmed nearby. The first draft of the novel was 196 pages long and called The Belles of Hell. Fleming later changed the title after being told of a nineteenth-century sailing novel called On Her Majesty's Secret Service, seen by Fleming's friend Nicholas Henderson in Portobello Road Market.

As with his previous novels, Fleming used events from his past as elements in his novel. Whilst at Kitzbühel in the 1930s, Fleming's car, a Standard Tourer, had been struck by a train at a level crossing and he had been dragged fifty yards down the track. From that time on he had associated trains with death, which led to their use as a plot device not just in The Man with the Golden Gun, but also in Diamonds Are Forever and From Russia, with Love.
To demonstrate just how much all things original Bond are appreciated in the world of collectors, the Walther pistol used by Connery in the poster of From Russia With Love, in 1963, and also drawn in the man With The Golden Gun is in fact just an air pistol. A .177 (4.5mm) Walther 'LP MOD.53' Air Pistol, Serial No. 054159. That pseudo pistol was sold by Christies in 2010, with an estimate of £15,000 to £20,000, but for an incredible £277,000. {We dropped out of the bidding at a mere £22,000} Incredible in that it was never used in any film, it was just an air pistol, not a real automatic, and only ever used in promotional posters. It was 'said' to have been used by accident in fact as they couldn't find a correct Walther.
A full set of 1st edition Ian Fleming's 14 James Bond novels published by Jonathan Cape between 1953-1966 could now cost in the region of £90,000. plus Comprising: Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds are Forever, From Russia with Love, Dr No, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only, Thunderball, The Spy Who Loved Me, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, You Only Live Twice, The Man with the Golden Gun and Octopussy and the Living Daylights.
The dust jacket has a few small tears, and a water stain, with first page opening at the hinge seam, but a nice rare copy considering it is over 50 years old.

Out of interest, our last example of this super Ist edition James Bond, in around the same condition, we sold as a gift for an American megastar, who is now, apparently, the most famous and biggest selling movie actor in the world.  read more

Code: 25088

A Beautiful Quality 'Commercial' Walnut Gunstock For an Imperial German Luger Semi Auto Pistol, Likely the Long Barrel Navy or Artillery Luger. These Luger Accessories Are Now Pretty Rare & Turn Up Most Infrequently.

In fact , after a reasonable effort at research we could find no other quite like it for sale anywhere worldwide, even the regular flat sided military issue tupes are not to be seen at present, unless they were with a complete pistol. A super old piece of Luger pistol kit, to transfer the pistol into an effective carbine.

Overall in excellent condition, the steel locking bracket does has some old small pitting in small areas.

A usual example, the regular military type was thin slab sided walnut. This is a traditional full butt stock form example.

We have fitted it to some of our private collection Lugers and it fitted our long barrel artillery and navy Lugers butt stock mount well, and it fitted into the slots of all the Lugers perfectly, but on some WW2 lugers the locking latch was tight. This may well be that the old WW1 lugers had had their carbine stocks fitted frequently, and our WW2 Lugers may never have used the carbine stock option in service at all so had no internal slot wear at all to make a good fit.

The Pistole Parabellum or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just the Luger or Luger P08, is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The Luger was produced in several models and by several nations from 1898 to 1949.

The design was patented by Georg Luger. It was meant to be an improvement of the Borchardt C-93 pistol, and was initially produced as the Parabellum Automatic Pistol, Borchardt-Luger System by the German arms manufacturer Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken (DWM). The first production model was known as the Modell 1900 Parabellum. It was followed by the "Marinepistole 1904" for the Imperial German Navy.

At the beginning of World War I, not all units of the German Army had been equipped with the Luger, leading to an acceleration in production. Alongside the P08, Germany also developed the LP08, a version with a stock and longer barrel that could also accept drum magazines. The LP08 was used by the Luftstreitkräfte during the early days of the war, before planes were equipped with machine guns, although due to a lack of pre-war production, the LP08 was much less commonly used than the P08. The main user of the LP08 was the Army, who used its drum magazine to deliver a high rate of fire at a close range, a concept which would lead to the development of the Stormtroopers and the MP 18. After the end of the war, Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, which restricted the size of their army – the treaty specified that the German Army could only have 50,000 pistols, and prohibited submachine guns and pistols with stocks altogether  read more

Code: 25861

1st Edition James Bond, Man With the Golden Gun, by Ian Fleming. Bond Sent to the Caribbean To Find & Kill Francisco Scaramanga, The Titular "Man With the Golden Gun".

London: Jonathan Cape 1965. 1st Edition 1st Impression. Flemings 12th outing for Commander Bond. Minor spotting as to be expected. With dust jacket. Cover artist Richard Chopping (Jonathan Cape ed.). The Man with the Golden Gun is the twelfth novel (and thirteenth book) of Ian Fleming's James Bond series. It was first published by Jonathan Cape in the UK on 1 April 1965, eight months after the author's death. The novel was not as detailed or polished as the others in the series, leading to poor but polite reviews. Despite that, the book was a best-seller.

The story centres on the fictional British Secret Service operative James Bond, who had been posted missing, presumed dead, after his last mission in Japan. Bond returns to England via the Soviet Union, where he had been brainwashed to attempt to assassinate his superior, M. After being "cured" by the MI6 doctors, Bond is sent to the Caribbean to find and kill Francisco Scaramanga, the titular "Man with the Golden Gun".

The first draft and part of the editing process was completed before Fleming's death and the manuscript had passed through the hands of his copy editor, William Plomer, but it was not as polished as other Bond stories. Much of the detail contained in the previous novels was missing, as this was often added by Fleming in the second draft. Publishers Jonathan Cape passed the manuscript to Kingsley Amis for his thoughts and advice on the story, although his suggestions were not subsequently used.

The novel was serialised in 1965, firstly in the Daily Express and then in Playboy; in 1966 a daily comic strip adaptation was also published in the Daily Express. In 1974 the book was loosely adapted as the ninth film in the Eon Productions James Bond series, with Roger Moore playing Bond and Fleming's cousin, Christopher Lee, as Scaramanga.
The Man with the Golden Gun film was filmed in 1974 the ninth film entry in the James Bond series and the second to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. A loose adaptation of Ian Fleming's novel of the same name, the film has Bond sent after the Solex Agitator, a device that can harness the power of the sun, while facing the assassin Francisco Scaramanga, the "Man with the Golden Gun". The action culminates in a duel between them that settles the fate of the Solex.

The Man with the Golden Gun was the fourth and final film in the series directed by Guy Hamilton. The script was written by Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz. The film was set in the face of the 1973 energy crisis, a dominant theme in the script. Britain had still not yet fully overcome the crisis when the film was released in December 1974. The film also reflects the then popular martial arts film craze, with several kung fu scenes and a predominantly Asian location, being set and shot in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Macau. Part of the film is also set in Beirut, Lebanon, but it was not shot there. Ian Fleming wrote The Man with the Golden Gun at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica in January and February 1964, completing it by the beginning of March. His health affected him badly during the writing process and he dropped from his usual rate of two thousand words a morning to a little over an hour's worth of work a day.

As with his previous novels, Fleming used events from his past as elements in his novel. Whilst at Kitzbuhel in the 1930s, Fleming's car, a Standard Tourer, had been struck by a train at a level crossing and he had been dragged fifty yards down the track. From that time on he had associated trains with death, which led to their use as a plot device not just in The Man with the Golden Gun, but also in Diamonds Are Forever and From Russia, with Love. To show just how much all things original Bond are appreciated in the world of collectors the Walther pistol used by Connery in the poster of From Russia With Love, in 1963, and also drawn in the man With The Golden Gun poster as shown here an air pistol, .177 (4.5mm) Walther 'LP MOD.53' Air Pistol, Serial No. 054159, was sold by Christies in 2010 with an estimate of £15,000 to £20,000 for an incredible £277,000. Incredible in that it was never actually used in the film, was an air pistol, not a real automatic, and only used in promotional posters. It was 'said' to have been used by accident in fact as they couldn't find a correct Walther PPK on the day of the photoshoot.  read more

Code: 22632

A Most Scarce, And Highly Attractive In It’s Simplicity 17th Century Tanjore Battle Axe From The Era of Moghul Emperor Aurangzebe

From the era of Emperor Aurangzebe, from Lahore, in the Punjab. Iron combat axe head of iconic backswept form with elongated rectangular socket mount, on likely a later haft. Sobriquet Aurangzeb (Persian: "Ornament of the Throne") or by his regnal title Alamgir (Persian: "Conqueror of the World"), was the sixth, and widely considered the last effective Mughal emperor. His reign lasted for 49 years from 1658 until his death in 1707.

Aurangzeb was a notable expansionist and during his reign, the Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent, ruling over nearly all of the Indian subcontinent. During his lifetime, victories in the south expanded the Mughal Empire to 4 million square kilometres, and he ruled over a population estimated to be over 158 million subjects, with an annual yearly revenue of more than ten times that of his contemporary King Louis XIV of France, around 39 million pounds (almost 3 billion rupees) in 1690. Under his reign, India surpassed China to become the world's largest economy, nearly a quarter of world GDP in 1700.

Aurangzeb is considered one of India's most controversial kings. Some historians argue that his policies abandoned his predecessors' legacy of pluralism and religious tolerance, citing his destruction of Hindu temples and execution of a Sikh guru, while other historians question this, arguing that his destruction of temples has been exaggerated and were politically motivated, and noting that he built more temples than he destroyed, also destroyed Islamic mosques, paid for the maintenance of temples, employed significantly more Hindus in his imperial bureaucracy than his predecessors did, and opposed bigotry against Hindus and Shia Muslims.

It was at the end of his reign that the downfall of the Mughal Empire began. Rebellions and wars eventually led to the exhaustion of the imperial Mughal treasury and army. He was a strong-handed authoritarian ruler, and following his death the expansionary period of the Mughal Empire came to an end. Nevertheless, the contiguous territory of the Mughal Empire still remained intact more or less until the reign of Muhammad Shah.  read more

Code: 20915

An Imposing & Elegant ‘Morituri’ Walking Cane Combination ‘Bartitsu’ Club Stick, Cast Bronze Skull With & Sophisticated Ebony Stick & Carved Bone Ferrul. Once A Most Essential Accessory For the Gentleman About Town.

Likely 20th century, post Victorian.. A gentleman’s walking out club cane of the most distinct esoteric style of a weighted cast skull set upon an elegant, earlier, Victorian ebony cane with a carved bone ferrule.
Skull mounted canes for gentlemen have been most popular in all forms since the 18th century, and one of the most famed was the cane made for, and used by, Charles Darwin.

Darwin called his skull stick his ‘morituri’, a type of ‘memento mori’. These objects remind their owners of the short time people live on earth. Charles Darwin (1809-82) is famous for his theory of evolution outlined in The Origin of Species, first published in 1859. Darwin’s walking stick was collected by Henry Wellcome as a relic of someone Wellcome considered a ‘great man.’ Darwin's carved whalebone Morituri cane is shown in the gallery on a black ground.

Walking canes have been in use for centuries and have come to represent both elegance and practicality. A sophisticated walking cane in particular, is more than just a tool to aid in walking it is a statement of style, sophistication, and grace. The concept of a gentleman’s elegant walking cane, its history, and its contemporary significance, is intriguing, and furthermore, a night walking gentleman once trained in the art of the ‘fighting stick’, most elegantly detailed in the Sherlock Holmes novels by famed Victorian and Edwardian Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, could a most effective adversary, with his defensive accessory, ready to counter the prowling Victorian ne’er do well or assassin on the streets of London after dark {just like London is now, apparently, but long before dark}

A brief history of walking canes
Walking canes have been in use since ancient times, with evidence of their use found in several civilizations around the world. The Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all used walking sticks for both functional and ceremonial purposes. In medieval times, walking canes were an accessory of the wealthy and powerful, often adorned with precious metals and jewels.

By the 17th century, walking canes had become an essential part of men's fashion. They were not only used as a symbol of wealth and status but also as a practical tool to aid in walking. During the 18th century, walking canes became even more ornate, with intricate designs and carvings, and the addition of handles made from exotic materials such as ivory and tortoiseshell.

In the 19th century, walking canes became more utilitarian in nature, with the introduction of collapsible canes and adjustable handles. They continued to be popular among the wealthy, with some canes serving as a form of self-defense, in the lawless cities, fitted with sword or dagger blades. And a substantial cane often made a most effective 'club' stick, although never designed as such of course, but necessity has always been the mother of invention.

Bartitsu is an eclectic martial art and self-defence method originally developed in England in 1898–1902, combining elements of boxing, jujitsu, cane-fighting, and French kickboxing (savate). In 1903, it was immortalised (as "baritsu") by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes mystery stories.

The stick fighting component was based on the two fundamental tactics of either feinting/striking pre-emptively or "baiting" the opponent's strike via a position of invitation. Fighting from the style's characteristic high- and double-handed guard positions - assumed so as to make it more difficult for an opponent to "snipe" the weapon-wielding hand - stick strikes and thrusts targeted the opponent's face and head, throat, elbows, hands and wrists, solar plexus, knees and shins. The Bartitsu stick fighter would often incorporate close combat techniques such as trips, throws and takedowns, representing a fusion of the Vigny stick system with jujutsu, which was unique to Bartitsu as a system.

A most beautiful yet intriguing collectors item.

90cm long  read more

Code: 24855