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Nation : Italian
Local Price : $5895.00 CAD

ITALIAN SWEPT HILT RAPIER. ITALIAN SWEPT HILT RAPIER: Circa 1640. wonderful 40½ inch blade, 1⅛ inch wide. Original wire wrapping with Turk's heads at each end. A very plain but graceful hilt. Maker's initials “A.C.” are faintly visible on the tang. Maker's stamps of 3 dots on the cross-guard. $5895.00

Nation : French
Local Price : 4,200.00 USD

FINE FRENCH STEEL HILTED SMALLSWORD C.1750. This sword is distinguished both for its quality and being in pristine condition. The hilt elements are chiseled in high relief and chased to a jewelers standard. The decoration interestingly consists of central panels of flowers of various types with foliage, flanked by small displays of arms. All of the relief decoration is blued, now fading to brown. Foliage fills the balance of the surfaces and the ground is fire gilt throughout. The grip is silver wire and tape as well as a russet steel band with a series of gold crenelated rosettes. The blade is decorated at the forte with a bordered panel of baroque ribbon and foliage and a borderless panel above. 31 5/8" length blade.

Nation : British
Local Price : £3000

Rare British Infantry Basket Hilted Sword with ANDRIA FARARA marked blade circa 1735 to 1765. A fine British “three-quarter” basket hilted sword made for British infantry soldiers of the line in the mid 18th century. The sword is mounted with a fine quality tapering, double edged, Solingen-made, broad sword blade. The hilt is formed in the traditional manner for the half of the guard that protects the outside of the hand of a right handed user. In this respect a vertical oblong shaped guard plate is fitted between the flattened knuckle bow and the side guard bar. Then a similar flattened bar with merlons at the base is fitted between the side guard bar and the rear guard bar. On the other side, the usual side guard bar takes the same form as the knucklebow, and the space between these two flattened bars is occupied by a single, stretched, “S” shaped bar. There is no further protection for the hand on this side of the hilt. Clearly this design of hilt, unique in our experience, assumes that the inside hand of the user can be more economically protected with fewer bars than on the outside which is a deviation from the more usual basket hilt forms of the time. The downward curled wrist guard which extends from the cross guard at the rear and the forward loop guards which appear on more usual basket hilt designs are present. The pommel is of bun shaped type typical of British military swords of the mid 18th century. It has a multi-faceted button of separate manufacture from which fluted ridges radiate towards the mid line of the pommel. This elaborate feature is hand crafted and a quality embellishment in advance of the usual plain surfaces usually encountered with this pommel type. The original grip is made of hardwood covered with leather. It is spirally grooved bound with twisted brass wire flanked with narrower wire either side. Iron ferrules are applied top and bottom of the grip. The hilt retains its original red woollen fringe and stitched leather liner covered with red velvet on the outside and the remains of its stitched blue silken hem. The double edged blade tapers to its tip and has a short ricasso. A double fuller extends for 9 inches from the hilt after which an elaborate cruciform shape is incised into the blade on each side. Each fuller is stamped with “ANDRIA FARARA” each side with the words separated and flanked by pairs of “X” marks. The blade is almost certainly of German manufacture from one the the main European blade making centres such as Solingen. The slimmed down hilt design was a new innovation for the time deemed appropriate for infantry use. This measure is not a cost saving consideration in the manufacturing process, because the sword is a high quality although plain weapon, made up of sturdy, thick, well worked bars to the hilt, and mounted with a fine blade. The remarkable painting in the Royal Collection attributed to David Morier (1705? to 1770) entitled “An Incident in the Rebellion of 1745”, painted circa 1753, shows British line infantry repulsing a charge by Highlanders. The depiction of the weapons is deemed important by historians, because Morier is thought to have used actual combatants that took part in the battle as models with the weapons used. Of significance here are the swords carried by the British line infantry soldiers. These are basket hilted swords with typical bun pommels mounted with guards of three quarter size, similar to our sword, although the arrangement of the bars is slightly different. This may be due to artistic convenience / negligence on the part of Morier, or more likely, is indicative of slight variations in the way colonels often commissioned weapons manufacture for their individual regiments. See: https://www.rct.uk/collection/401243/an-incident-in-the-rebellion-of-1745 Measurements: The blade is 31.75 inches (80.5 cm) long and overall the sword is 38.25 inches long (97 cm). The ricasso is .75 of an inch long (2 cm). The fullers are 9 inches long (23 cm).

Nation : British
Local Price : $2995.00

Silver Inlaid Pillow Sword, ca. 1660, Probably English. This type of sword often called a “pillow sword” due to its small size and the thought that it could be hidden under one’s pillow to protect against an intruder. The smaller flattened hilt would certainly make it easier to hide under a pillow, though there is no known evidence to support this type of sword being used in this way. Alternatively, the sword would be right at home with a gentleman at court. This example features a chiseled iron hilt, with short down-curved rounded quillons. 4-sided ovoid pommel with button, and grip wrapped with alternating plain and twisted silver wire, finished with Turks heads top and bottom. Hilt is blackened with solid silver inlaid decoration depicting foliage and fruits, surrounded by tiny silver pellets. Double-edged 30 1/8” (76.5 cm) blade of lens section with central fuller and long ricasso showing faint traces of engraved decoration. Hilt retains nearly all of its original blackening and silver inlay, wire wrap slightly loose at the top, and remains of wax in recesses. Blade with very light pitting and age staining. Overall length 36” (91.5 cm). High quality sword in very good condition for its age.

Nation : British
Local Price : £2,995.00

Small Sword English Cut Steel Hilt made at Woodstock, very fine & rare. SN 8976. A Very Fine & Rare English Cut Steel Hilt Small Sword made at Woodstock.&194;&160;39&157; overall, 33&157; slender tapering blade of hollow triangular section, etched with scrolls over the forte. Burnished steel hilt comprising pierced petal shaped shell guard centring round a star, a pair of slender pas d’ âne, knurled quillon, waisted quillon block, slender knuckle guard with a pierced central moulding & tall ovoid pommel chiselled with a flowerhead front & back. The entire hilt enriched with a profusion of faceted beads in imitation of brilliants and retaining its original grip of plaited copper wire and ribband, the latter decorated en suite with the hilt and retaining much of its original bright polish throughout. In its white vellum covered wooden scabbard with burnished steel mounts comprising locket, chape and middle band, the former two each fitted with a suspension ring. Circa 1770. A very rare and fine sword in very good condition, the beads with 4 very small losses, the tip of the blade very slightly bent. Two similar examples are exhibited in the Metropolitan New York and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The sword’s hilt was made in Woodstock near Oxford, Woodstock steel was renowned for its quality. The studs decorating the surface of the hilt are fitted individually and threaded onto the main body. Similar works from Birmingham, including the renowned factory of Matthew Boulton, made rivetted studs that were not removable and of poorer quality. A contemporary diarist, Sylas Neville, wrote, "Steel goods and gloves are the two staples of Woodstock. Their watch-chains and sword hilts are more highly polished and better standard than those of Birmingham. They polish all with hand. Their studs screw, and everything they make can be taken to pieces and cleaned whereas the Birmingham studs are rivetted." The small Woodstock workshops famed for cut steel jewellery, buckles and Cut-steel small swords were particularly sought after. Sold locally, but also in London its international reputation was spread by fashionable tourists visiting Blenheim Palace. In 1742 Horace Walpole sent Woodstock steel wares to the British Consul in Florence requesting that they be given as diplomatic gifts. In 1759 buckles were ordered for the King of Prussia and in 1768 the King of Denmark, The design of the present sword perhaps inspired those of Matthew Boulton and James Watt. The former went on to develop mechanised production techniques, including steam powered polishing wheels, that would see the decline of the Woodstock Manufactory. The production of steel goods near Woodstock can be traced back to 1643 with the establishment of a sword mill at nearby Wolvercott. The following century the area became well known for the high quality of its work, Count Frederick Kielmansegge wrote in his diary of 1761-2 that ’.....the best steel goods in London come from Woodstock and there is hardly a steelworker who does not employ several workmen’. Victoria & Albert Museum item number: M.29-1957&194;&160; Metropolitan NY association number:&194;&160;26.145.307 The Oxfordshire Museum. For an account of Woodstock hilts see The Rapier and Small Sword 1480-1820 by Norman 1980, pp 409 - 410. Dean, Bashford.&194;&160;Catalogue of European Court Swords and Hunting Swords: Including the Ellis, De Dino, Riggs, and Reubell Collections. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929. no. 109, pl. LXXX.The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Helmut Nickel, Stuart W. Pyhrr, Leonid Tarassuk, and American Federation of Arts.&194;&160;The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: An Exhibition. New York: The Federation, 1982. p, 113, no. 66, ill.Holcomb, Melanie, ed.&194;&160;Jewelry: The Body Transformed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018. pp. 140"e;43, pl. 112. Images courtesy of West Street Antiques (https://antiquearmsandarmour.com/)

Nation : -
Local Price : $2995.00

Silver Inlaid Transitional Rapier/Smallsword, Late 17th/Early 18th C. The second half of the 17th C and early 18th C brought significant changes to the swords worn by European gentlemen. During the first half of the 17th C blade lengths gradually increased, as it was thought the extra length would give a reach advantage in a duel. Hilts also had to be larger and heavier to balance the longer blades. It became such a problem at the English court that Queen Elizabeth decreed that sword blades could not exceed 36”. However, in most countries the blade lengths continued to increase until about the mid-17th C, with some blades nearing 5 feet in length. At some point, it was determined that a shorter, lighter sword could get inside the reach of a long rapier and defeat it. This caused blade lengths to start shortening, with hilt sizes decreasing as well. However, many of the features of the earlier rapiers remained, gradually transitioning to the smallsword most typically associated with the 2nd half of the 18th C. The sword offered here is of the late transitional period, having a smaller hilt with pas d’ane, asymmetrical shell guard, knuckle bow, and small ovoid pommel. It has a grip wrapped with alternating strands of twisted silver and brass wire, with matching Turks heads top and bottom, a feature found mostly on 17th C pieces, but continued into the early 18th C as well. The double-edged 29 5/8” (75 cm) blade has a long lens-section ricasso, the balance of hexagonal section. The upper third is engraved with foliage and sun faces, filled with gold. The feature most associated with the transitional period is the manner of hilt decoration. Rather than the cast brass and silver hilts, sometimes gilded, of the later 18th C smallswords, this example is of blackened chiseled steel, with chiseled grooves into which solid silver was pounded and shaped to form the design. The striking contrast between the blackened background and the raised silver decoration produced a very attractive hilt. It was a much more time-consuming method than later examples and that is why it gradually gave way to later methods. It retains its original black leather-covered wood scabbard (drag and one carry ring missing), with high quality black steel mounts decorated with silver; the throat depicting a drummer in uniform with castle in the background, reverse with stand of arms and vacant oval escutcheon. Blade very good, with mostly crisp engraving and areas of light pitting. The hilt with small silver losses, greater on the pommel. Overall length 36” (91 cm).

Nation : Italian
Local Price : £2,995.00

North Italian Short Sword of Cinquedea Form, Rare. Ref X3297. A Rare North Italian Short Sword of Cinquedea Form. 33&157; overall, 27&157; broad thin double edged blade with a single central shallow fuller with engraved line border. The hilt of typical cinquedea style with iron down curved quillons & incised line decoration riveted through the blade with a single thin langet, hexagonal fig shaped pommel with hexagonal tang button, grip of two wooden scales bound with iron wire. North Italian circa 1500. A very rare sword in good condition for its age, grip wire partially missing. See ´The Sword in the age of Chivalry´ by E. Oakshott, Plate 42c for similar blade and ´Royal Armouries Nos. IX .150´ and ´IX.149´. &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; Images courtesy of West Street Antiques (https://antiquearmsandarmour.com/)

Nation : British
Local Price : £2,995.00

Presentation Heavy Cavalry Sword with Rare Celtic Hilt. SN 8870. A Rare Celtic Hilt Presentation Heavy Cavalry Sword. 40 1/2&157; overall, 35&157; wide straight blade with a spear point and wide fuller. Etched to one side with ´Prize Sword Won in the Dacorum Troop of Yeomanry 1833´ and at the forte &156;Prosser maker to the king and Royal Family Charing Cross&157; and on the obverse ´Prosser maker to the King and Royal Family London´ and&194;&160; ´WR IV´ under a Crown with crossed lances. Celtic hilt formed of S & C scrolls, stepped pommel and wire bound fish skin grip. In its black painted iron scabbard with two suspension rings. Dated 1833. A possibly unique sword conforms in size and style to the 1796 Heavy Cavalry Troopers sword with variation of Prosser´s Celtic hilt of 1815-20. Sword in very good condition, some small staining to the blade, scabbard has most of its original black paint. John Prosser Sword Cutler & Beltmaker to George III, 1795; George IV, 1827. Registered silversmith´s mark 1796. Sword Cutler & Gunmaker, 9 Charing Cross, 1796-1853; 37 Charing Cross 1854-60. Dacorum Troop of the South Hertfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry formed 16 February 1831.&194;&160; See The British Cavalry Sword 1788-1912 Chapter 11 by R Deller for more on the Celtic hilt and Prosser.&194;&160;&194;&160; Images courtesy of West Street Antiques (https://antiquearmsandarmour.com/)