For Sale

The following items are listed by for sale by users of the site and dealers. They are in no way endorsed or guaranteed by www.antiquearmsresearch.com

Add a Classified Item

Type:

Nation:

Keyword(s):

Budget: to

Clicking on the sword will take you through to the relevant classified item or dealer site.

Don't miss out! - Do you want to be kept informed weekly of new aditions? Just join our weekly update list.

You can also receive regular email notifcations when items match your keywords. To recieve them just register or logon at the top right of this page.

Nation : British
Local Price : £4000

Late 17th century Silver Mounted Hanger by Thomas Vicaridge of London with slave trade associations. An important hanger by the accomplished cutler and silversmith Thomas Vicaridge of London. The hanger is distinctive because of its blackamoor head pommel which means the hanger probably has slave trade associations. The hanger is featured in Howard L Blackmore, “The blackamoor swords”, Royal Armouries Yearbook, Volume 3, 1998, pages 74 and 75, Figs 14a and b. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries when swords were a popular weapon for gentlemen, hangers were a robust secondary side arm used for self-defence when hunting and travelling. They were also used in parts of the British Army and Navy. Hangers appear in some military portraits of the time. The high quality hanger described here was a gentleman's weapon. The knuckle bow is stamped with Thomas Vicaridge's first pre-Britannia maker's mark of “T V” in raised relief inside a shield, with a three point crown above and a pellet below, which dates the hanger to 1682 to 1697. Vicaridge lived in exciting times as London was remodelled in the decades after the turbulence of the Civil War period, the Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of 1666. The city was more outward looking, international trade was growing, military success was being achieved abroad and more interest and investment was being expressed in art and culture. Vicaridge was one of the leading craftsmen of his day and the quality of his work represents the styles and fashions of late 17th and early 18th century Baroque London. The hilt is comprised of a bold faceted quillon block with a downward facing flattened circular rear quillon pierced and chased with a cherub's head on top of a double scroll. The knuckle bow is of flattened oval section and swollen in the middle where it is pierced with a foliate panel inside a cartouche on each side. The pommel cap is scalloped around its folded edge which envelopes the natural stag antler grip with its pronounced “V” shaped groove on top. The pronounced blackamoor head sits prominently in this groove protected by its sides. The terminal of the knuckle bow is fixed into the pommel rim with the tip placed into the mouth of the blackamoor to emulate the playing of a musical instrument. The grip has a silver ferrule at its base with a scalloped edge. Thomas Vicaridge completed his apprenticeship with Joseph Jones, a London Cutler, on 25th April 1682 when he was sworn “Free” upon completion of his term of servitude at a well-attended meeting at Cutler's Hall. Until 1697, along with other silversmiths, Vicaridge used his own mark as described above and stamped it onto this sword. Two examples of this mark are struck onto a copper plate still preserved at Goldsmith's Hall in London. In 1697, with the advent of the Higher, or “Britannia”, Standard for silver, smiths were required to record a new punch mark bearing the first two initials of their surnames. As a result, Vicaridge recorded the mark “VI” with a crown above and pellet below inside a shield. This mark was used from 1697 onwards until his death in 1715. Only a few surviving edged weapons by this maker are known and all are of high quality. The slightly curved single edged blade is 20 inches long (51 cm) and is forged with a short ricasso and a wide shallow central fuller which extends from the hilt almost to the pointed tip on both sides. A narrower, deeper fuller runs from the hilt underneath the blunt back edge for four fifths of the blade length after which it is double edged for the remainder of its length to the tip. The sword is in good condition and has survived the centuries well. The hilt has retained its attractive shape and contours. There is some wear to the blade which has a consistent layer of light pitting. There are two stamps both on one side of the knuckle bow. One is located underneath the central cartouche and is discernible whilst the remains of the other located above the cartouche is just realisable but only in light of examination of the first. Swords and other valuable ornaments were produced featuring blackamoor heads as exotic adornments for European nobility for centuries before our hanger was made by Vicaridge. In his paper published in 1998 Howard L Blackmore explored the subject of “The blackamoor swords”. In the last part of this study he describes four English silver hilted hangers of the late 17th century with blackamoor heads which he thought at the time was the entire known population. He describes these as the “last of their kind” at a time when the blackamoor had lost much of its mystical appeal and after which it did not appear again in the same manner as it did in the past. By the end of the 17th century black Africans were reduced to being perceived more as slaves and trade cargo. In his conclusion he suggests in explanation for the swords that they may have been made for members of a secret society or bizarre club in London that used the blackamoor head as its emblem. This is unlikely. Figure 15 illustrated by Blackmore shows a sword by Thomas Vicaridge which he dates to around 1700. Significantly the middle of the knuckle guard has a royal bust with a crown above which undoubtedly represents an English monarch. This is not a one-off. A similar bust appears on another sword by Thomas Vicaridge with a blackamoor head pommel recently sold through our business. There were probably many more made which have not survived. The link between the royal bust and the blackamoor head should be explored further. The ruling monarchs of England held a monopoly on the British slave trade through the Royal African Company that lasted from 1660 to 1698. Vicaridge's mark on the sword we recently sold dates to 1682 to 1697. Blackmore dates his Figure 15 to “about 1700” indicating that the date is uncertain. The hanger is described as in a private collection and is not available for examination. It is probable that both hangers were worn as symbols by employees and others to affirm their association with the Company, engaged because of the Crown's involvement in the slave trade, either before or after the monopoly was opened up, and English merchants were allowed access to this business. The bust together with the blackamoor pommel seems sufficient to establish a connection between both these hangers and royal patronage of the slave trade. Subsequently is follows that hilts mounted with the blackamoor heads and not stamped with the royal busts have the same association. The sword featured here is illustrated in Figure 14a and b by Blackmore. However, there are errors in his description. Blackmore dates the sword by its hallmarks to 1702 yet none are present and he does not acknowledge the presence of Vicaridge's pre-Britannia stamp on the knucklebow. Of the four “blackamoor” hangers in Blackmore's paper three are complete and one is a detached grip. So five hilts of this type are now known. Blackmore assumed that the swords may not have all been made by Vicaridge. However, of the population of five, three are known to be by Vicaridge. The marks on the other two are probably too worn to identify a maker or have not been examined well enough. However, the workmanship involved in these two hilts is so similar to the other three blackamoor swords by Vicaridge, and other surviving swords by Vicaridge with more usual pommels, that we can reasonably assume he made all of the blackamoor pommel silver hilted hangers. Some of these other surviving hangers with more usual pommels are discussed in a paper by Leslie Southwick published in the Royal Armouries Yearbook (Volume 5 in 2000) alongside other swords by Vicaridge. The styles of grip, ferrules, guards and quillon terminals are notably similar to the blackamoor pommel group. Taking into account all of the above, production of these blackamoor pommel hangers can be tied to a short time period at the very end of the 17th century and it would seem that Vicaridge alone was specifically commissioned to make these hangers for reasons and by people now unknown who were associated with the slave trade.

Nation : American
Local Price : $3995.00

Flintlock Kentucky Long Rifle, ca. 1830. Featuring unmarked 40 7/8” (103.8 cm) octagonal barrel of approximately .44 caliber, with fixed iron rear notch sight and inlaid brass front blade sight. Original flintlock mechanism with unmarked flat lockplate and swan neck cock. Tiger stripe maple full stock (section of fore stock expertly repaired), with brass mounts, including decorative engraved patch box cover, trigger guard, butt cap, side plate, fore end cap, and three ramrod thimbles; wood ramrod. Very good condition, the barrel with pitting and dark rust patina, stock with lovely dark patina, and brass mounts with pleasing brownish gold patina. Overall length 56 1/4” (142.9 cm). Beautiful classic piece to hang over the fireplace.

Nation : -
Local Price : $3995.00

Cased Pair of Percussion Pistols, ca. 1850. Featuring unmarked browned rifled 7 1/2” octagonal Damascus twist barrels of approximately .69 caliber. Locks with tear-drop shaped lock plates and hammer finely engraved with acanthus decoration. Walnut half stocks with checkered wrists and nickel silver mounts comprising trigger guard, barrel pin and escutcheon, ramrod thimble, and butt caps with hinged percussion cap storage. Original green baize-lined mahogany case with vacant brass round escutcheon, and brass lock with key. Original accessories include copper and brass powder flask, single-cavity bullet mold, combinationcleaning rod and bullet worm, nipple wrench, and screw driver. Very good quality and condition, showing very little use; the case with a few scratches. Overall length of pistols 13 1/4” (33.7 cm); case dimensions 15 3/8” (39 cm) long, by 9 3/4” (24.8 cm) wide, by 2 1/4” high (5.7 cm). Case, pistols, and accessories have no markings, but one tin of percussion caps is German and the set was recently obtained in Germany.

Nation : British
Local Price : £3,995.00

Rare 17th Century Flintlock Blunderbuss by Blanckle. Ref 9267. A Fine Rare 17th Century Flintlock Blunderbuss by Blanckle. 15&157; overall, 7 3/8&157; two stage copper alloy barrel engraved with acanthus at the flared muzzle & in front of the turned girdle, border engraved octagonal breech becoming polygonal, signed in capitals &194;&160;´I. Blanckle´ along the top flat & decorated with strawberry foliage, a line of wrigglework at the rear, & struck with London proof marks & barrelsmith´s mark, probably of John Blanckle, foliate engraved tang , border engraved rounded lock signed in capitals & decorated with strawberry foliage issuing from the mouth of a male profile head, engraved cock. Walnut moulded figured full stock with drop shaped apron around the barrel tang, copper alloy mounts comprising pierced foliate scroll side plate engraved with beadwork, escutcheon engraved with a male portrait bust wearing a cap against a finely dotted ground, rounded pommel cap engraved with a flower head centred on the retaining screw & with a border of repeated foliage, trigger guard with pointed finial & engraved with scrolling foliage issuing from the mouth of a monster head, baluster ramrod pipe, later capped wooden ramrod. Late 17th century.&194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160;&194;&160; Blunderbuss of this age are very rare, this example restocked with a later side plate & replaced mainspring, John Blanckle (also Blanckley, Blanckly and Blankley) was apprenticed to Thomas Towle and turned over to Thomas Cox in 1699. He was free of the London Gunmakers´ Company in 1677. He was Contractor to Ordnance between 1682 and 1700, the year of his death.&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160;&194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; Provenance Professor David Weaver Collection.&194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; &194;&160; Images courtesy of West Street Antiques (https://antiquearmsandarmour.com/)

Nation : German
Local Price : $3995.00

Late 16th C Landsknecht Dagger and Scabbard, Probably German. Iron hilt with down-turned lobed guard incised with foliage (brazed copper repair). Ribbed wire-wrapped wood grip broadening toward the pommel and capped with a lobed disc with button; undisturbed peen. Double-edged 11 1/2” diamond-section blade with stamped cross and orb mark on the ricasso. Extremely rare original scabbard made of wood and covered with green textile and decorative pierced sheet iron cover with belt loop; the tip with large ovoid disc and button. Scabbard fitted for side knife, now absent. Blade with scattered pitting and rust marking. Overall length 16”, not including scabbard.

Nation : British
Local Price : £3950

Rare English “Mortuary” sword, dating to the middle part of the 17th century. A rare English “Mortuary” sword, dating to the middle to third quarter parts of the 17th century and the English Civil War, Commonwealth, Protectorate and Restoration periods. The sword is a rare hybrid type with hilt features common to both contemporary English Mortuary and Walloon swords. The hilt is of typical “Mortuary” form consisting of a broad saucer-shaped guard plate from which three main curved guard bars taper upwards ending with flattened angled terminals screwed into the pommel to secure the structure. The wide back edge of the plate is tightly scrolled downwards to create a wrist guard. The grip sits on top of a flanged plug inside the guard beneath which two short langets extend through the base to secure the blade at the ricasso on either side. Whilst of “Mortuary” type, the hilt differs from the usual form. The guard plate is chiselled on the outside with the outline of two clams, one on either side of the blade, which emulate the side guard plates of English contemporary “Walloon” swords. The insides of these areas are pierced with regular patterns of diamond, circle, and figure of eight shapes, similar to the piercings in the plates of Walloon swords. The oval panel to the front of the guard plate at the base of the knuckle bow is an extension of the plate which is also pierced in the “Walloon” manner. The guard bars are narrower but thicker than the usual flat bars of mortuary hilts. The two secondary guard bars which emit downwards from the knuckle bow either side terminate in pronounced curls which fall short of reaching the side guard bars to which they are usually fixed. Instead, the bars are joined together, and the bottom bar is joined to the plate below. The upper bar is extended to create a crescent which is fixed onto the side guard bar to secure the front and side structures. The middles of the side guard bars are swollen and bisected to create knops and whilst this feature is common, but not exclusive to English Walloon swords, it is not common on mortuary hilts. The curved rear secondary guard bars which extend downwards from the side bars to the plate near the wrist guard terminate in pronounced curls like the secondary bar terminals which emit from the front knuckle bow. The onion shaped pommel is smoothly multifaceted and has an integral button on top and a pronounced flared neck beneath with a collar. It sits on top of a baluster shaped grip with iron ferrules top and bottom bound with wire. The broad, plain, double-edged, tapering blade is imposing and of robust form. It has a short ricasso. The blade was probably made in one of the German blade making centres such as Solingen. Huge numbers of blades were imported into Britain during the Civil War period from Europe to fulfill demand for swords on both Royalist and Parliamentarian sides. Two swords described as mortuary swords, very similar in form to our sword, are illustrated in Cyril Mazansky’s “British Basket Hilted Swords”, Boydell Press 2005, on pages 245 and 246. One is in the Kienbusch Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Reference 1977-167-621, and the other sold through Christies London, lot 54, 7th May 1981. Other Mortuaries with similar secondary guard arrangements are featured on pages 250 and 263. Contemporary English swords of definite Walloon type which display similar features are illustrated in Mazansky on pages 282, 283 and 284, mounted with typical teardrop wrist guards etc. Provenance: John Hardy Collection. Measurements: 34.5 inch blade (87.5 cm), 40.75 inches overall length (103.5 cm). The blade is just over 1.75 inches wide at the hilt 4.75 cm

Nation : Persian
Local Price : £3950

Click and use the code >23515 to search for this item on the dealer website Fabulous Bronze and Iron Archemeanid Empire Sword From the Time of the Greco-Persian Wars of Xerxes the Great Against the Spartans at Thermopylae. The Very Type of Sword Actually Used As Depicted in The Movie 300 Spartans

Nation : British
Local Price : £3950

English Civil War Period Mortuary Sword Circa 1640-1660. An attractive English “Mortuary” sword with a finely chiselled hilt dating to the middle part of the 17th century and the English Civil War and Protectorate periods. The hilt is of typical form consisting of a broad boat-shaped guard plate from which three curved primary guard bars, the knuckle bow and two side guard bars, extend upwards ending in flattened angled terminals screwed through eyelets into the pommel with circular headed screws. Two downward facing secondary guard bars emanate from each side of the knuckle bow near its middle and join the base of each side guard bar to strengthen the structure. Two further supporting guard bars emanate from the other face of the side guard bars and scroll downwards to join the guard plate at the wristguard The guard plate including its upturned prow is covered with chiselled decoration to the outside consisting of finely executed foliate patterns. The secondary guard bars to the front are chiselled with simple linear features to the middles. The merlons at the base of the side guard bars are also chiselled with foliate designs. The pommel is globular in shape and has an integral button on top and a pronounced flared neck beneath. It is also chiselled with fern-like lines. The baluster shaped wooden grip is wrapped with leather, bound with twisted brass wire and has brass woven “Turks’ Heads mounted top and bottom. The grip base sits on an iron flanged plug mounted onto the inside of the guard plate from which two langets extend through the tang aperture to flank the blade either side for a short distance from the hilt. The double-edged blade is of lenticular section and has a pronounced ricasso extending for 2.25 inches (just under 6 cm) from the hilt with two deep fullers applied just inside each blunt edge. A shallow fuller runs from the end of the ricasso along the middle of the blade for 5.5 inches (14 cm). Inside the fuller the mark “ANDREA FERARA” is finely incised on both sides of the blade separated by a design of counter facing crescents and dots and flanked by cross shapes formed from four pointed star shaped dots. An incised running wolf mark is present just beyond the fuller terminal on each side. The marks most likely indicate that the blade was made in Solingen in Germany which was an important manufacturer of blades for use in the English Civil War and huge numbers were imported into Britain during this period for use by both Royalist and Parliamentarian sides. The blade is 32 inches long (81.5 cm) and overall the sword is 39 inches (99 cm) long. For further examples of Mortuary swords see Stuart C Mowbray's “British Military Swords”, Mowbray Publishing, 2013, in the section dedicated to Mortuary Swords, pages 178 to 225. And see Cyril Mazansky, British Basket Hilted Swords, Boydell Press 2005, Chapter 11, pages 233 to 280. The sword is in fair condition overall with some old pitting to the hilt. The hilt is firm and in good shape.