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Nation : British
Local Price : £3.850

Early 18th Century Scottish Basket Hilted Sword of Glasgow Style. An early 18th century Scottish Basket Hilted sword. The hilt is of fine quality workmanship and is mounted with a broad Solingen made double fullered blade. The structural bars are of thick flattened rectangular section and are decorated on the outside in the distinctive “Glasgow” style with broad filed longitudinal grooves along the middle with narrower incised lines on each side. This style was developed by sword makers working in Glasgow in the second half of the 17th century and flourished until the third quarter of the 18th century. The style was also adopted by the most skilled smiths in some of the other sword making centres in Scotland and was copied by the British military for some of its own basket hilted swords made in the Scottish style in the mid-18th century. Filing and incising the bars in this manner was a time consuming and skilled task demanding many hours of work. This hilt is a fine quality example which stands out in other ways. The pierced patterns are finely and symmetrically executed. The primary guard panels at the front are pierced with an oblique quatrefoil at the centre, surrounded by flanged hearts at the sides and circles in the corners. The side guard panels and knuckle bow are pierced with flanged hearts top and bottom with two circles in the middle. Concentric cup and ring marks are applied between the quatrefoils and the circles which are repeated at the base of the side guard panels and side merlons. These marks are an early feature and help date the hilt to the early 18th century. The side guard panels and the knucklebow are applied with grooves and lines which radiate downwards and terminate in lateral grooves across the base of each. The main guard panels are filed in “Glasgow” style at the sides in the same manner as the guard bars. All of the primary and secondary guard plates are finely fretted at the edges with cusps and merlons. The forward loop guards are decorated in the “Glasgow” manner crossed with lateral grooves at the joins with the main side guard bars. The cone shaped pommel has three sets of Glasgow style grooves which radiate to the edge from the peened tang on top. The spaces between are cut with similar grooves in chevron shapes. The guard arm terminals tuck into a groove cut around the pommel just below its middle in the Scottish style. The grip is mounted on a thick leather liner and formed from a baluster shaped piece of hardwood with brass ferrules top and bottom. The slack in these ferrules indicate that the grip was once wrapped with a material, probably leather or shagreen, but is now missing. The tapering single edged blade is of fine quality. It has a short ricasso and a double fuller which runs from the hilt almost to the tip. Letters in the fullers on each side form the word SOLINGEN and refer to the famous German blade making centre where the blade was made. Like many period Scottish swords this one has seen a long working life and the blade has been adapted during its period of use. It was originally double edged and slightly broader than it is now. It has been intentionally slightly ground back along one side during its working life to create a back edge in proportion with the blade taper. The fullers are now not running along the middle as would be usual with a broad sword blade of this type, but instead, are nearer to the regressed back edge than the cutting edge because of the modification. During the early 18th century “back sword”, or single edged, blades became increasingly popular. They were less expensive to make than double edged blades and became fashionable for both clan, civilian and military markets in Scotland. The blade may have been slimmed to suit the new fashion by creating the back edge. The new back edge is decorated with a long row of small crescents intended to give more definition to the newly created spine of the blade. Alternatively, possibly the blade when double edged was damaged with nicks at its front edge through use, then refurbished at some time which involved smoothing the nicks out of the front of the blade to create the back edge, then reversing the blade in the hilt. This kind of adaptation seems to be more likely to have been carried out by a clan armourer rather than a sword maker working in the burghs. Swords with amended blades of this type, with similar profiles, are not unusual judging by the number that have survived. The sword is in russet condition with some pitting to the hilt in places. The blade is 32.25 inches long (82 cm) and the overall length of the sword is 37.25 inches (just over 94.5 cm). For swords with similar hilts see Cyril Mazansky, “British Basket-Hilted Swords”, Boydell Press, 2005, particularly those illustrated in pages 103, 107, 111 and 116 – 124.

Nation : British
Local Price : £3,850.00

Scottish Fencibles Officers Sword c 1794. A rare basket-hilted sword for an officer of the Fencibles, 1794 circa. Single edged blade with wide fuller the spine maker marked Woolley and Co. Basket-shaped hilt with flattened bars and consisting of two halves with engraved decoration, the central part featuring the large Georgian crown, round pommel with extended tang button, and fish-skin grip secured by twisted brass wire. Information: The Fencibles from the word defencible were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years’ War Blade Length: 77cm Overall Length: 92cm

Nation : Italian
Local Price : £3,850.00

Venetian Schiavona c 1760. Venetian Schiavona c 1760 super quality with tapering blade struck with a series of small marks within and about the four short narrow fullers on both sides at the forte, the two lower fuller extending to the point. The signed iron basket-guard of characteristic type incorporating thumb-ring and forward-swept rear quillon, brass shield-shaped pommel decorated on both sides with a demon mask cast in relief, and the grip with leather binding. Overall length 108cm the blade 92cm

Nation : British
Local Price : £3850

Mid-18th Century British Dragoon Basket Hilted Sword. An impressive example of a horseman's basket hilted back sword made for an Officer, or Trooper, of a North British / Scottish Regiment of Dragoons towards the middle and third quarter of the 18th century. These swords were issued by the Board of Ordnance to British regiments and were manufactured in the Scottish manner. They were first issued in the second quarter of the 18th century and were used during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, Britain’s wars in Europe and the American Revolutionary War. The sword is a rare example of one that retains its remarkable full length blade of just over 40 inches (102 cm) designed mainly for striking downwards at opposing infantry soldiers with greater reach than the more usual blade lengths of the time could afford. Although many swords of this type are mounted with blades of shorter length, the majority of those that were originally made with this longest type were cut down. This is a rare survivor with its metal parts in extremely well preserved and undamaged condition as visible in the photographs. The fully formed basket is pierced with flanged hearts and circles in the main front and side panel guards which are also finely fretted at the edges with chevrons and merlons. One of the more usual frontal guard plates has been replaced with an oval ring in “horseman” fashion. The arms of the guard are forged onto a circle of iron into which the base of the bun shaped pommel sits. The pronounced button is integral with the pommel and not of separate manufacture. The original grip is of wood which retains its “Turk's Heads” top and bottom. It has lost its shagreen cover and wire binding. The robust single-edged blade has a thick spine and is double edged for the last 19.25 inches (48.5 cm) towards the point. It has a short ricasso and two fullers which commence 4.25 inches from the hilt. One wide broad fuller runs down the middle of the blade to the point and a second narrower fuller runs just underneath the spine to where the blade becomes double edged. Overall the sword is in fine and original condition. For a further example of this sword type see Cyril Mazansky, British Basket-Hilted Swords, Boydell Press / Royal Armouries, 2005, plate F1e page 97 for a sword in the National Museums of Scotland, collection reference LA33.

Nation : Chinese
Local Price : £3795

Click and use the code >24388 to search for this item on the dealer website Archaic Chinese Warrior´s Bronze Sword, Around 2,300 to 2,800 Years Old, From the Zhou Dynasty to the Qin Dynasty, Including the Period of the Great Military Doctrine ´The Art of War´ by General Sun-Tzu

Nation : British
Local Price : £3,750.00

British Naval Officer’s Sword c1800. Excellent sword with gilt brass hilt with decorative extended beak pommel possibly inspired by the Egyptian campaign. The grip is bone bound with gilt wire, single edged curved blade with false damascus pattern. Complete with matching scabbard maker marked Johnstons London two loose rings and frog stud

Nation : Portuguese
Local Price : £3,750.00

Pattern 1777 Land Service Flintlock Pistol made for the Portuguese Cavalry. SN R010. A pattern 1777 Land Service pistol 19&157; overall, 12&157; round pistol bore barrel with central proof marks with earlier flat Sea Service lock stamped Tower crown GR with Ordnance mark, ring neck cock, bridle-less pan, walnut full stock with Ordnance storekeeper´s and JR mark (for Portugal), long spurred butt cap, belt hook, Sea Service side plate, single ramrod pipe and ramrod (possibly original). Made up for Portuguese service. Circa 1780 Pistol in good condition, well patinated. &194;&160;Note: Great Britain supplied Portugal with ordnance pistols during and after the Napoleonic Wars. They were marked with the sovereigns cipher, either JR for Joao VI (1799-1826) or Maria I (1828-53). See page 66, British Military Pistols 1603-1888 by R.E. Brooker, Jr.&194;&160; Provenance Robert E Brooker Jr Collection author of British Military Pistols 1603-1888. Images courtesy of West Street Antiques (https://antiquearmsandarmour.com/)

Nation : British
Local Price : £3750

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 light layer of old pitting and the stamps of Vicaridge are worn. 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 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.