A Super Early Samurai Sword Katana Tsuba, Kanayama and Ono School

Kanayama and Ono school tettsu tsuba, Circa 1400
Kanayama Tsuba exhibit a well forged iron with a hammered surface with prominent Tsuchime similar to Owari Tsuba but with stronger Tekkotsu visible in the rim and surface. The origin of Kanayama tsuba is still not a hundred percent clear, but most sources name a city close to Nagoya in the Owari province. In the early Edo period Ono Tsuba developed out of the Kanayama school and continued their tradition with various designs but a bit smaller in size.
The Kanayama school
Beginning in mid Muromachi to the end of Genroku (ca. 1400 to 1710). For purposes of study, the period of production is divided into three sections: the first period is the Muromachi age, second period is Momoyama age, and the third period are the pieces made in Kyoto during the Edo age. Normally round, sometimes oval.
the tsuba's seppa dai is a very good shape, squarish at top and bottom. Usually Thickness 3 to 5.09mm. this tsuba is 5 mm thick . It appears slightly large for the size of the tsuba and slightly more oblong than those found on Owari tsuba.

Many tsuba of the school have thin, raised square peripheral rims (later examples have rounded rims) with 'tekkotsu' visible.
Design Characteristics:
This school would seem to be the earliest to use ji-sukashi (positive silhouette). Most of the designs are plain, direct, and abstract, consisting largely of straight or curved lines that produce a feeling of great dignity. The openwork is so extensive that the remaining metal portions are very fine and slender.

Antique Japanese koshirae [Japanese samurai sword mounts, tsuba and fittings] are considered as fine object d'art in their own right, and have been collectable as individual items or sets, since the Edo period. They were often removed from swords, mounted in small cases, and respectfully admired for display as items of the highest quality workmanship, and symbols of the noble samurai, in their own right. Some koshirae collectors never actually have any interest in the blades themselves, and individual pieces can attain values of tens of thousands of pounds, and there are many multi million pound collections, in and out of museums, comprising of some of the finest examples of Japanese un-mounted sword fittings from the samurai historical period.

70mm across  read more

Code: 24045

A Napoleonic Wars Exploded Solid Shot 12 Pounder Cannon Ball

Battle field recovery. With less than 50% remaining, the ball has hit its target, and split asunder. Within the ball is an air pocket which may explain its split in two on impact. Thomas Blomefield, as Inspector-General of Artillery, introduced a new system of Ordnance from 1784 onwards. His system of gun tubes was based around two standard lengths: that of 17 calibres and that of 13. Seventeen calibre tubes were used for the 'heavy' or 'long' pieces with the 'light' and siege/garrison guns having tubes of 13 calibres. The calibre of all 12-pounders was 4.623 inches.

Blomefield designed three types of 12-pounder, each being specialised towards a particular function. The heavy 12-pounder was used in garrison and siege work; the medium was used in the field and the light for the horse artillery. As the Napoleonic wars progressed, however, the medium 12-pounder became the sole weapon of its class.

The medium 12-pounder had a gun-tube that was 6 feet 6.66 inches in length and it weighed 18.0 cwt; an example cast by John and Henry King in 1795 at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds, has a length of 6 feet 3 inches and a weight of 18 cwt 9lb. A medium 12-pounder also survives with its original block-trail carriage in Montreal. The Royal Artillery used 12-pounder field guns in almost all of their major operations and furthermore it was used by the Royal Horse Artillery. See; Wellington's Big Bang: the British 12-pounders By Anthony Leslie Dawson  read more

Code: 21295

Rare German Zeppelin Aerospace Medal 1930 1st South America Brazil flight

German Aerospace medal. Silver Medal 1930 (O. Gl?ckler) First South American cruise of "LZ 127". Head of Dr. H. Eckener left / airship across the Atlantic between Europe and South America. Edge hallmark: PREUSS.STAATSMiNZE.SILBER 900 FINE. 36.2 mm, 24.8 g, small edge error, excellent overall.

LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin (Deutsches Luftschiff Zeppelin 127) was a German passenger-carrying, hydrogen-filled rigid airship that flew from 1928 to 1937. It offered the first commercial transatlantic passenger flight service. Named after the German airship pioneer Ferdinand von Zeppelin, a count (Graf) in the German nobility, it was conceived and operated by Dr. Hugo Eckener, the chairman of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin.

Graf Zeppelin made 590 flights totalling almost 1.7 million kilometres (over 1 million miles). It was operated by a crew of 36, and could carry 24 passengers. It was the longest and largest airship in the world when it was built. It made the first circumnavigation of the world by airship, and the first nonstop crossing of the Pacific Ocean by air; its range was enhanced by its use of Blau gas as a fuel. It was built using funds raised by public subscription and from the German government, and its operating costs were offset by the sale of special postage stamps to collectors, the support of the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, and cargo and passenger receipts.

After several long flights between 1928 and 1932, including one to the Arctic, Graf Zeppelin provided a commercial passenger and mail service between Germany and Brazil for five years. When the Nazi Party came to power, they used it as a propaganda tool. It was withdrawn from service after the Hindenburg disaster in 1937, and scrapped for military aircraft production in 1940.  read more

Code: 22349

A Very Good French 19th Century Crimean War and Franco Prussian War Pouch

Artillery officers pounch with a leather ground and gilt bronze borders and large gilt bronze mountings with wide cross belt hangers. Red morocco leather The cross belt was predominantly used from the 1700s (American Revolutionary War) to the 1840s they were not part of a soldier's equipment in the American Civil War and Anglo-Zulu War/First Boer War.

For most line infantry, skirmishers, light infantry, grenadiers and guard regiments during much of Europe's Age of Gunpowder, either a cross belt or two shoulder belts were worn.[citation needed] One configuration for the belts would be the cartridge box on the right hip and sword scabbard on the left. Such equipment would be attached to the belt at its lowest point, where it rests on the hip. Officers almost never carried muskets or rifles, so they typically wore only one shoulder belt, such as for the pistol cartridge box or for a sabre scabbard. As officers were often aristocratic and used many independent symbols for their family, rank, and command, their uniforms and gear organisation could be highly variable.

For British infantry, the cross belt had a metal belt plate with the regiment of the soldier inscribed on it. We show in the gallery an old print of officers of another regiment but it shows how this pouch was worn  read more

Code: 18644

An Intriguing Zeppelin Warfare Interest Original Bespoke Portrait Photo and Coloured Print of an Imperial German Rifleman in WW1 From The Photographic Wolf Studio of Ulm

A personal portrait photo of a German WW1 rifleman that has been onlaid onto the patented print, of three infantrymen, and him centre from his regiment, the 2nd Jager Battalion Aschaffenberg, Jager [rifleman] Hauck of the Bavarian Infantry in a wooded scene, and his name inscribed below. They were unique patented items that were created for the family members of the soldier for posterity. Photographic studio, A.Wolf of Ulm. 420mm x 525mm. Mounted and unframed. Would look stunning nicely reframed . One of two stunning and rare matching examples of original Great War period Imperial German Zeppelin and infantry warfare prints we acquired that we are selling separately  read more

Code: 19889

An Original Imperial German WW1 Zeppelin Warfare Interest, Bespoke. And Coloured Print of a German Infantryman, Landsturmann Lantz. From the Wolf Photographic Studio of Ulm.

Landwehr Infantry Regt. Nr.123 Ravensburg A personal portrait photo of a German WW1 rifleman that has been onlaid onto the patented print, of three infantrymen, and the subject from his regiment. Imperial German Infantrymen in a wooded scene, with a Zeppelin in the background and his name inscribed below. They were unique patented German photographic records of WW1 that were created for the family members of the soldier for posterity by a photographic studio and print shop. A Wolf of Ulm. 330mm x 450mm. Sold un-mounted and unframed. It would look absolutely stunning nicely reframed. One of two stunning and rare matching examples of original Great War period Imperial German Zeppelin and infantry warfare prints we acquired that we are selling separately.  read more

Code: 19892

Victorian First Lanarkshire Artillery Volunteers Helmet Plate

Victorian other ranks helmet plate of the 1st Lanarkshire Artillery Volunteers.
A fine scarce white metal example of a home service helmet plate, being of a Victoria crowned royal arms with a scroll below inscribed First over a gun which is resting resting over another scroll inscribed Lanarkshire Artillery Volunteers
There are three fixing loops to the reverse. The 1st Lanarkshire Artillery Volunteers were formed in 1859 as a response to a French invasion threat. Its units fought at Gallipoli and in Palestine during World War I, and in Normandy and North West Europe during World War II.
C1878-1900 Excellent Condition.  read more

Code: 18563

WW1 Imperial German Officer's sword 73rd Reserve Regiment. Company 16 Sword 1

A gilt brass-bronze hilt with silver wire bound grip and folding shell guard, maker marked blade by Wayersberg Kirschbaum, Solingen. Regimentally marked with the Kiaser’s ordnance inspection stamp. The 19th Reserve Division, 37th Reserve Brigade, 73rd reserve infantry regiment, began the war under command of Generalleutnant Max von Bahrfeldt on the Western Front, participating in the opening German offensive which led to the Allied Great Retreat and ended with the First Battle of the Marne. Thereafter, the division remained in the line on the Aisne and in the Champagne. From May 1915 to March 1916, the division fought in Upper Alsace. It then fought in the Battle of Verdun until July, when it went into the Argonne Forest. In October 1916, it saw action in the later phases of the Battle of the Somme. In April 1917, the division fought in the Second Battle of the Aisne, also known as the Third Battle of Champagne. In May, it was sent to the Eastern Front, and fought around Riga until September. It then returned to the Western Front, where it saw action in the Battle of Passchendaele. It was back in the trenchlines at Verdun from October 1917 to April 1918. In August–September 1918, the division faced the French and American Oise-Aisne Offensive. It remained in the line until war's end. Allied intelligence rated the division as first class. No scabbard  read more

Code: 23991

A Nice Edo Period Round Iron Plate Tsuba Decorated with A Boy Riding a Water Buffalo

After Hanabusa Itchō, a very popular subject in Japnese art in the late 17th to 18th century.Tsuba were made by whole dynasties of craftsmen whose only craft was making tsuba. They were usually lavishly decorated. In addition to being collectors items, they were often used as heirlooms, passed from one generation to the next. Japanese families with samurai roots sometimes have their family crest (mon) crafted onto a tsuba. Tsuba can be found in a variety of metals and alloys, including iron, steel, brass, copper and shakudo. In a duel, two participants may lock their katana together at the point of the tsuba and push, trying to gain a better position from which to strike the other down. This is known as tsubazeriai pushing tsuba against each other. 68mm  read more

Code: 23952

A Very Good Decorated Spanish Antique Albacete Fighting Knife

A 19th Century Spanish Fighting knife of Albacete, Spain; The knife measures 28cm in length with an elaborate ornately pierced blade. The blade has two holes and an open panel incised for decoration, with added pin point engraved decoration. The hilt is brass, inlaid with carved bone. The bone has been fluted length ways and further inlaid with decorative brass panels. A Handbook for Travellers in Spain (printed in 1855), by Richard Ford, has a commentary on the knife culture that prevailed in Spain at the time. When we read an account of an exotic land written by an English traveler in 19th century Albacete, Abula, he describes that as owing to its central position, from whence roads and rails branch to Aragon, Murcia, Valencia, and Madrid, it is a place of great traffic, and is a town of locomotives, from the English rail, the French dilly, to the Spanish donkey. . . . "Albacete is called the Sheffield of Spain, as Chatelherault is the knife making centre of France; but everything is by comparison, and the coarse cutlery turned out in each, at whose make and material an English artisan smiles, perfectly answers native ideas and wants. The object of a Spanish knife is to "chip bread and kill a man," "  read more

Code: 20810