Antique Arms & Militaria

An Original 18th Century, Royal Naval, Board of Ordnance Issued Fire Bucket. Bearing BO Broad Arrow Stamp and Makers Stamp

Hardened leather with all stitched seams in excellent condition, and leather handle. Bears the remainder of an applied royal crest. Broad arrow & Board of Ordnance stamp to the base.
Fire aboard a wooden ship was a constant peril, from such as burning powder shot or cannon fire, or even from an enemy fire ship, and could be the destruction of a vessel and crew in a very short time, if not subdued as quickly as possible. Thus good and sturdy leather fire buckets were an essential piece of Royal Naval equipment aboard every vessel. We show a row of Royal Naval issue fire buckets reproductions aboard Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory, now in permanent dock at Portsmouth. It is still the flagship of the Royal Navy in honour of Nelsons famous victory at Trafalgar. Fire buckets have been popular with collectors and owners of period homes for a very long time. They represent a time long before most towns had established and well-equipped fire departments ready to respond at a moment’s notice to a house or shop fire, when people relied on their neighbours to come to their aid. The risk for catastrophe from fire was great. A single stand-alone house could be consumed in minutes. In towns, fire in densely populated neighbourhoods could quickly result in the destruction of dozens of buildings.

Between 1630 and 1700 Boston experienced at least six major fires that destroyed well over 200 buildings. Most fire buckets were likely purchased from merchant craftsmen who specialised in leather goods, or wholesalers who imported wares from England. The earliest reference for the sale of fire buckets in Boston comes from a 1743 newspaper where an advertisement from an unnamed merchant simply states, “A Parcel of Choice Fire Buckets to be sold.” it is very rare to find a mark or signature on a fire bucket that identifies its maker.

At Christies auction house on the 17th December 2015 a fire bucket from HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship, sold for £6875
Leather handle likely replaced  read more

Code: 24005

A Very Attractive 17th Century Indian Khanda Sword

33.5 inch blade, probably German, bearing crescent moon armourers mark. Open basket hilt with wide hand protection. The name firangi meaning foreigner was also apparently given to swords of this style these somewhat later in the 17th Century, as they were mounted with European blades, imported by the Portugese, which were highly valued. Some blades were locally made in the European style. The blades were mounted on the Khanda style hilt and with the long spike extending from the pommel which enabled them to be used as two handed swords. The firangi sword characteristically had a straight blade of backsword form (single edged). The blade often incorporated one, two, or three fullers (grooves) and had a spear-tip shaped point. The sword could be used to both cut and thrust. Examples with narrow rapier blades have survived, though in small numbers. The hilt was of the type sometimes called the "Indian basket-hilt" and was identical to that of another Indian straight-bladed sword the khanda. The hilt afforded a substantial amount of protection for the hand and had a prominent spike projecting from the pommel which could be grasped, resulting in a two-handed capability for the sword. Like other contemporary Indian swords the hilt of the firangi was usually of iron and the tang of the blade was attached to the hilt using a very strong resin, additionally, the hilt to blade connection was reinforced by projections from the hilt onto either face of the forte of the blade which were riveted together though a hole passing through the blade. Because of its length the firangi is usually regarded as primarily a cavalry weapon. Illustrations suggest a 16th-century date for the development of the sword, though early examples appear to have had simpler cross-guard hilts, similar to those of the talwar. The sword has been especially associated with the Marathas, who were famed for their cavalry. However, the firangi was widely used by the Mughals and those peoples who came under their rule, including Sikhs and Rajputs. Images of Mughal potentates holding firangis, or accompanied by retainers carrying their masters' firangis, suggest that the sword became a symbol of martial virtue and power. Photographs of Indian officers of Hodson's Horse (an irregular cavalry unit raised by the British) show that the firangi was still in active use at the time of the Indian Mutiny in 1857-58 The khanda can generally be a double-edge but can be a single edged straight sword. It is often featured in religious iconography, theatre and art depicting the ancient history of India. Some communities venerate the weapon as a symbol of Shiva. It is a common weapon in the martial arts in the Indian subcontinent. Khanda often appears in Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh scriptures and art The word khanda has its origins in the Sanskrit meaning "to break, divide, cut, destroy". Used from the time of Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (15 October 1542, 27 October 1605 ), popularly known as Akbar I literally "the great" and later Akbar the Great, he was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Please note the hilt is quite small, this is purely due to the fact people from that period, from all the continents around the world, were much smaller in stature and frame.  read more

Code: 23220

The Lanes Armoury Gift Voucher Can Be The Perfect Solution

A Gift Voucher is often the ideal solution to leave the decision of the item to choose to the person you wish to gift. They can select any form of item whatsoever, such as samurai arms and armour, militaryantiques and militaria or books, and most importantly, they do not expire. They are valid forever. They are available from us for all values, from only £15 up to £15,000, and as required, and are entirely bespoke to the recipient. All are unique and customised for each and every occasion. We have priced this example in the gallery at £200 and the image shows our example £200.00 voucher, but you can specify any alternative amount at all in the 'comment' section in the Webstore Order page, or call us direct.

A pdf voucher can be sent to you within the hour during opening times from the shop.  read more

Code: 24553

A Very Fine Early 19th Century, Anglo-Spanish Sporting Gun by Ignacio Bascaran, Dated 1822, One of Spain's Most Important Gunsmiths and Barrel Makers of His day, With His Bespoke Silver Inlaid Barrel

A fine English sporting gun bespoke mounted with a stunning Spanish barrel, by Bascaran of Eibar The main factory of arms, Bascarán de Eibar, was one of the most important Basque companies of the 19th century. It was founded by Bascarán in Eibar in 1820 and its factory continued working until year 1862, date in which the children and later their grandsons were given a position of the factory, the family name in gunsmithing goes back to the 18th century and a gun by Fernando Bascaran is in the Basque Museum . The last gunsmith of the Bascarán clan of which I have news was of Mr. Martín Bascarán, which made a semi-automatic pistol Ruby type until year 1918 to equip to the armies French and English during the I World war. The beautiful city of Eibar Guipúzcoa is a municipality belonging to the region of Bajo Deba in the Basque Country of Spain. It is known as the "City of Gunsmiths." In this illustrious city it has produced some of Spain's leading makers. The first written document referring to Eibar gunsmith industry is a request from Lombard dated 1481. Arms of this grade were incredibly expensive and more often than not made for presentation to important persons. As with all our antique guns no license is required as they are all unrestricted antique collectables.  read more

Code: 23889

Congratulations To Nat Edwards, The New Master of the Armouries at the Tower of London & Director General

Royal Armouries newly appointed director general, Nat Edwards, joins the Royal Armouries from the renown Thackray Museum of Medicine in Leeds.

Nat Edwards was previously the chief executive officer of Thackray Museum of Medicine in Leeds where he has overseen a £4m refurbishment of the venue since joining in 2018. He has worked in the sector for more than 30 years, including roles at the Science Museum Group, National Library of Scotland, National Trust for Scotland and Glasgow Museums.

The Royal Armouries has sites in Leeds, HM Tower of London and Fort Nelson in Hampshire. It employs about 190 staff and receives about 2 million visitors a year across its three venues.
Courtesy of the Museums Association

We were most honoured to receive a personal invitation by Nat to his first formal patrons event at the Tower, including a personal tour of the Line of Kings.  read more

Code: 24508

An Invitation From the Duke of Wellington To Lt Gen Bourchier of Waterloo For the Waterloo Banquet at Apsley House

We now have for sale the portrait, after Salter, of Col. Charles Dance [then Capt.] of the 23rd Light Dragoons, who appears in the large Salter painting [see the painting in the gallery] of the Waterloo Banquet. The full portraits by Salter of the officers attending the banquet were painted prior to the banquet in order for Salter to render them accuratelywithin the great banquet portrait. As a young Captain/Major Lt General Bourchier served in the 11th Light Dragoons in the Peninsular War and with distinguished heroism at Waterloo. For his bravery he was awarded a gold medal and promoted by Wellington to Brevet Lt. Colonel and later became the Colonel of the 3rd Dragoon Guards. His son was awarded the Victoria Cross aged 23 for service in the Crimean War. This personal invitation from Wellington is to attend the special Waterloo anniversary dinner at Apsley House. We also had the 1796 pattern sabre [now sold] made for the IIth Light Dragoons. The 11th Light Dragoons [later became the 11th Hussars]. The 11th fought at both the Peninsular War and at the Battle of Waterloo, and were awarded almost 500 medals for Waterloo. After a spell in Ireland the 11th were sent to Spain and Portugal to reinforce Wellington's army. Their strength, normally around 300 in peacetime was raised to 725. They arrived in June 1811 and, as in Egypt, they had a bad start. A dawn attack by the French in woods between Elvas and the Guadiana forced the 11th to retire on to what they thought were friendly portugese lines. When they realised they were French, their commander Capt Lutyens ordered the charge. The shock tactic worked and they were able to drive their way through, but a second line of enemy troops was able to resist them. They lost 8 killed, 22 wounded and 77 taken prisoner.
The regiment had more success at El Bodon near Cuidad Rodrigo on 25th September. By this time they were commanded by Lt Col Cumming, a brave and efficient cavalry officer. A large force of French cavalry was threatening Allied infantry and artillery on the plain in front of the 11th and a squardon of the King's German Legion who were well placed on high ground. Although they were vastely outnumbered the 11th and KGL charged at the enemy again and again, 20 times in all.

The 11th were part of Wellington's great victory over Marmont at Salamanca on 22nd July 1812 but by 3rd April 1813 they had to give up their horses and embark for England much to the regret of Sir Stapleton Cotton who was in command of the cavalry in the Peninsula. It had been a hard two years for them having lost 417 men and 555 horses.

During their time in the Peninsula many changes had been made to the uniforms of the British Army. The Prince Regent had a keen eye for dress and with his newly acquired position of supreme power was determined to push through his ideas dased on continental military trends. The 11th exchanged it's light dragoon Tarleton helmet for a shako. The new jacket was still dark blue but had a buff plastron covering the chest, and white epaulettes, silver for officers. With the return of Napoleon in March 1815 the war with France resumed and the 11th arrived at Ostend on 2nd April. They were in Vandeleur's brigade with the 12th and 16th and had an unprecedented strength of 947 men. They came under heavy attack at Quatre Bras but did not suffer badly. On the 18th June 1815 the Battle of Waterloo began after a terrible night of torrential rain. It was a frustrating morning for the British cavalry who had to stand and watch an infantry battle. Against Wellington's wishes, the heavy cavalry made a brilliant charge that was spoiled by it's failure to re-form. The 11th under the command of Lt Col Money were sent into action when it looked as if the enemy were breaking up. They broke a French infantry square and carried on with the pursuit of Naploeon's fleeing soldiers.
Wellington entered Paris in triumph on 7th July escorted by the 11th and others. The regiment bivouacked on the Champs Elysees and became part of the army of occupation in France and Belgium. On 20th November they eventually arrived home after 3 years on the continent  read more

Code: 19367

An Antique Australian Aboriginal Boomerang With an Elaborate, Super Chip Carving and Decoration

Stone carved, with beautiful chip-carving and a good patinated surface. Over decorated snake and symbol design.

The Australian aboriginal peoples boomerang has probably been around for at least 40,000 years. It is an iconic symbol associated with Australia. What most people do not realize is that many antique aboriginal boomerang don’t actually come back. Only a few of the many forms of old boomerang return.
Antique aboriginal boomerangs come in a large variety of sizes, forms, and decoration. Different boomerangs had different functions. This variation reflects the social and cultural diversity of Aboriginal people. Aboriginals were not one group but had over 200 language groups.

As mentioned most old boomerangs were not made to return. The function of most boomerangs is to hit and kill whatever they are thrown at. Some boomerangs were for hunting but others were for fighting. Some huge antique boomerangs were up to 2 metres long and function like clubs. The majority of aboriginal returning boomerangs were for hunting birds

The Aboriginal boomerang has great aerodynamic properties. It is capable of going 200 metres compared to a throwing stick, which will only travel 60 metres.

Aboriginal Boomerangs could have engravings or be painted with ochre for ceremonial purposes. These designs are not decorative. Designs relate to the Dreamtime ancestors and totems. Collectors like boomerangs with designs and simple chip carved examples.
The Aboriginal boomerang is also used as a digging tool, for making fire and as a club.
Collectors like boomerangs that are old, unique, and rare or have elaborate designs.
60cm x 7.8cm  read more

Code: 17519

A Vintage Carved Aboriginal Shield With a Chip Carving Design of Kangaroo and Emu.

Very nice quality & stands as a piece of art as well as an Aboriginal implement.
It is a good size (22" long x 4" at the widest) & handcarved from a heavy solid grain timber, possibly West Australian Mulga It is in very nice condition
Best of all is the quality of the decoration, it has one kangaroo and two emu on the back (handle side) & a wonderful scene with three kangaroos & two emu on the front. Even the background has been carved with a fine textured look which must have taken some time, no doubt the artist really had talent & took pride in the quality of their work.

Australian Aboriginal shield come in many different forms depending on the tribe that made them and their function. Aboriginal shields come in 2 main types, Broad shields, and Parrying shields. Parrying shields parry blows from a club whereas broad shields block spears. Shields for parrying are thick strong and narrow whereas broad shields are wide but thin. Aboriginal shields were made from different materials in different areas, they were made from buttress root, mulga wood and bark.
This shield was probably also used as a ceremonial dance shield  read more

Code: 16780

Napoleonic Wars 10 Bore 'Brown Bess' or Heavy Cavalry Pistol Scissor Mould

This is a most rare piece of Napoleonic Wars infantryman's and heavy dragoon trooper's combat kit, but curiously the second we have had this year which is very unusual. A mould to create bullets for the 10 bore 'Brown Bess' musket and the 10 bore 1796 full bore Heavy Dragoon pistol. A .75 inch mould that creates a .68 inch ball. These military 10 bore 'Brown Bess' ball moulds are now very rare indeed, and a great addition to a collector that owns an original 'Brown Bess' or the 1796 Heavy Dragoon pistol that would want their original Napoleonic Wars scissor ball mould. Slight pitting overall, some were made by William Davies but this one is not maker marked  read more

Code: 24470

A Very Good Victorian 92nd Gordon Highlanders Silver Cross Belt Badge

92nd Regiment (Gordon) officer's crossbelt badge, silver plated 4 pointed star with St Andrew cross with battle honours, Sphinx below XCII Highlanders, with three threaded screw mounts.

In December 1878, the regiment was ordered to Afghanistan where it was engaged in various security operations following the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. In October 1879, it took part in the Battle of Charasiab, where the regiment captured three hills, thereby turning the enemy's flank. Major George White received the Victoria Cross for his part in this action. A further Victoria Cross was won by Lieutenant William Dick-Cunyngham at the Siege of the Sherpur Cantonment on 13 December 1879. At the end of August 1880, the regiment formed part of the force which marched under General Frederick Roberts from Kabul to Kandahar, and at the Battle of Kandahar on 1 September 1880, formed part of the 1st Brigade, which led the advance in sweeping the enemy out of the closely wooded enclosures along the western slopes of the hill on which the village of Gundi Mullah Sahibdad stood.

Instead of returning to the United Kingdom in 1881, the regiment was diverted to Natal to serve in the First Boer War. The regiment participated in the disastrous Battle of Majuba Hill on 27 February 1881. After capturing the hilltop in order to dominate the Boer line, the force of 350 British soldiers of the 58th and 92nd Regiments including a number of Royal Navy gunners, found themselves exposed to heavy and accurate fire early on the following day. This was followed by an assault by 2,000 Boers; despite a desperate last stand, the survivors were swept from the summit.  read more

Code: 16705