A Very Fine, 17th Century, King 'William & Queen Mary' Period Hangar Sword Cutlass of Senior Naval Officer's Admirals and Captains of the Royal Navy. & Notorious Pirates 🏴‍☠️ Gold Inlaid Flower Head Stamped Blade

From a superb family collection we just acquired, that was accumulated over decades, of fine early swords, pistols and cutlasses.

The sword of choice for senior officer's {Admirals and Captain's} serving in the Royal Navy during the 17th and early 18th century. We show three portraits in the gallery of admirals of the age each bearing their same swords, plus notorious pirates Blackbeard using the same sword.

Short flat sided blade. Antler handle made of antler of a male deer, called “hartshorn,” brass single knuckle bow bar hilt with cap pommel.
Blade bears two armourer's marks, of an 8 petealed flower stem and leaf with gold inlay. Overall in superb condition for its age.

Another very similar 'William and Mary period cutlass hangar was recovered {in a very poor state} from the wreck of notorious pirate, Captain Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, that was found at Beaufort inlet in 1996, the remains of the vessel have become the property of the people of North Carolina. And another 'William and Mary' period sword-cutlass is in a museum collection in Colonial Williamsburg in America.

William and Mary were the co-regnants over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, namely the Dutch Prince of Orange King William III (& II) and his spouse (and first cousin) Queen Mary II. Their joint reign began in February 1689 after they were offered the throne by the Convention Parliament irregularly summoned by William after his victorious invasion of England in November 1688, the so-called Glorious Revolution. They replaced James II (& VII), Mary's father, who fled the country. Parliament offered William and Mary a co-regency, at the couple's behest. After Mary died in 1694, William ruled alone until his death in 1702. William and Mary were childless and were ultimately succeeded by Mary's younger sister, Anne.
This was the most popular form of sword used by the early British Naval Commanders when at sea. There are numerous great portraits in the National Gallery, and at the National Maritime Museum, of 17th and 18th century Admirals adorned with identical swords. Such as Admirals Benbow, Shovel et al. we show three such portraits in our gallery, of Hopsonn, Shovel and Benbow.

Vice-Admiral John Benbow (10 March 1653 – 4 November 1702) was an English Royal Navy officer. He joined the Navy in 1678, seeing action against Barbary pirates before leaving to join the Merchant Navy in which Benbow served until the 1688 Glorious Revolution, whereupon he returned to the Royal Navy and was commissioned.

Benbow fought against the French Navy during the Nine Years' War, serving on and later commanding several English warships and taking part in the battles of Beachy Head and Barfleur and La Hogue in 1690 and 1692. He went on to achieve fame during his military accomplishments, which included fighting against Barbary pirates such as the Salé Rovers, besieging Saint-Malo and seeing action in the West Indies against the French during the War of the Spanish Succession.

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell (c. November 1650 – 22 or 23 October 1707) was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and then at the Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. As a captain he fought at the Battle of Bantry Bay during the Williamite War in Ireland.

As a flag officer Shovell commanded a division at the Battle of Barfleur during the Nine Years' War, and during the battle distinguished himself by being the first to break through the enemy's line. Along with Admiral Henry Killigrew and Admiral Ralph Delaval, Shovell was put in joint command of the fleet shortly afterwards.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, Shovell commanded a squadron which served under Admiral George Rooke at the capture of Gibraltar and the Battle of Málaga. Working in conjunction with a landing force under the Earl of Peterborough, his forces undertook the siege and capture of Barcelona. He was appointed commander-in-chief of the Navy while at Lisbon the following year. He also commanded the naval element of a combined attack on Toulon, base of the main French fleet, in coordination with the Austrian army under Prince Eugene of Savoy in the summer of 1707. Later that year, on the return voyage to England, Shovell and more than 1,400 others perished in a disastrous shipwreck off the Isles of Scilly.

Thomas Hopsonn enjoyed a naval command on 18 May 1688, when James II appointed him to the Bonaventure. This ship was part of the fleet sent to The Nore under Strickland to prevent the Dutch invasion. However, Hopsonn was one of the conspirators within the fleet who supported William of Orange in the Glorious Revolution.

Following the revolution, Hopsonn retained command of the Bonaventure and was part of the squadron that relieved the siege of Derry in June 1689. On 28 October 1689, he was posted to the York, and commanded that vessel during the battle of Beachy Head the following year. Hopsonn's immediate commander in the battle was Sir George Rooke, who formed a high opinion of his gallantry and was afterwards much associated with him. He commanded Royal Katherine for two months starting in August 1690, before moving to command the St Michael. It was aboard the latter that he followed Rooke in the battle of Barfleur on 19 May 1692. In the same year, he was promoted to become a captain in the foot guards on the recommendation of admiral Edward Russell.

Blackbeard or Edward Teach (c.1680-1718) is one of the most infamous pirates to have ever lived.
Known for his fearsome image and daring acts on land and sea throughout the West Indies and along the North American East coast, his legacy has been the inspiration for many depictions of pirates throughout history. In possibly his most brazen act, Teach used his flotilla to blockade the port of Charlestown in the province of South Carolina. Over the course of a week, nine vessels were stopped and plundered as they attempted to sail out of the harbour, where Teach's fleet was moored.
Teach informed some of his prisoners that his fleet required medical supplies from the colonial government of South Carolina and that if none were provided, all would be beheaded and their ships burned.
Two pirates and a prisoner were sent to the town but when they did not return he moved eight ships into the harbour, causing panic and looting within the town. Shortly after his supplies were delivered and the prisoners released, after reportedly being robbed of all worthy possessions.
This siege represents the height of Teach’s notoriety, not just as a skilled captain but a fierce leader who was not confined to the sea and would maraud where he pleased. Exploits such as these made Teach was one of the most commonly reported pirates in the news and in the print of his age.

22.75 inches long overall, 17.5 inch long blade  read more

Code: 25381

A Very Fine, 17th Century, King 'William & Queen Mary' Period Hangar Sword Cutlass of Senior Naval Officer's Admirals and Captains of the Royal Navy. Plus Infamous Pirates 🏴‍☠️.. King's Head Stamped Blade

The sword of choice for senior officer's {Admirals and Captain's} and pirates serving in the Royal Navy during the 17th and early 18th century. we show three portraits in the gallery of admirals of the age each bearing their same swords, plus Edward Teach aka Blackbeard. .

Short flat sided blade. Antler handle made of antler of a male deer, called “hartshorn,” brass single knuckle bow bar hilt with cap pommel.
Blade bears two 'king's heads' armourer's marks. Overall in superb condition for its age.
Another very similar 'William and Mary hilted cutlass hangar was recovered {in a very poor state} from the wreck of notorious pirate, Captain Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, that was found at Beaufort inlet in 1996, the remains of the vessel have become the property of the people of North Carolina. And another 'William and Mary' period sword-cutlass is in a museum collection in Colonial Williamsburg in America.

William and Mary were the co-regnants over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, namely the Dutch Prince of Orange King William III (& II) and his spouse (and first cousin) Queen Mary II. Their joint reign began in February 1689 after they were offered the throne by the Convention Parliament irregularly summoned by William after his victorious invasion of England in November 1688, the so-called Glorious Revolution. They replaced James II (& VII), Mary's father, who fled the country. Parliament offered William and Mary a co-regency, at the couple's behest. After Mary died in 1694, William ruled alone until his death in 1702. William and Mary were childless and were ultimately succeeded by Mary's younger sister, Anne.
This was the most popular form of sword used by the early British Naval Commanders when at sea. There are numerous great portraits in the National Gallery, and at the National Maritime Museum, of 17th and 18th century Admirals adorned with identical swords. Such as Admirals Benbow, Shovel et al. we show three such portraits in our gallery, of Hopsonn, Shovel and Benbow.

Vice-Admiral John Benbow (10 March 1653 – 4 November 1702) was an English Royal Navy officer. He joined the Navy in 1678, seeing action against Barbary pirates before leaving to join the Merchant Navy in which Benbow served until the 1688 Glorious Revolution, whereupon he returned to the Royal Navy and was commissioned.

Benbow fought against the French Navy during the Nine Years' War, serving on and later commanding several English warships and taking part in the battles of Beachy Head and Barfleur and La Hogue in 1690 and 1692. He went on to achieve fame during his military accomplishments, which included fighting against Barbary pirates such as the Salé Rovers, besieging Saint-Malo and seeing action in the West Indies against the French during the War of the Spanish Succession.

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell (c. November 1650 – 22 or 23 October 1707) was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and then at the Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. As a captain he fought at the Battle of Bantry Bay during the Williamite War in Ireland.

As a flag officer Shovell commanded a division at the Battle of Barfleur during the Nine Years' War, and during the battle distinguished himself by being the first to break through the enemy's line. Along with Admiral Henry Killigrew and Admiral Ralph Delaval, Shovell was put in joint command of the fleet shortly afterwards.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, Shovell commanded a squadron which served under Admiral George Rooke at the capture of Gibraltar and the Battle of Málaga. Working in conjunction with a landing force under the Earl of Peterborough, his forces undertook the siege and capture of Barcelona. He was appointed commander-in-chief of the Navy while at Lisbon the following year. He also commanded the naval element of a combined attack on Toulon, base of the main French fleet, in coordination with the Austrian army under Prince Eugene of Savoy in the summer of 1707. Later that year, on the return voyage to England, Shovell and more than 1,400 others perished in a disastrous shipwreck off the Isles of Scilly.

Thomas Hopsonn enjoyed a naval command on 18 May 1688, when James II appointed him to the Bonaventure. This ship was part of the fleet sent to The Nore under Strickland to prevent the Dutch invasion. However, Hopsonn was one of the conspirators within the fleet who supported William of Orange in the Glorious Revolution.

Following the revolution, Hopsonn retained command of the Bonaventure and was part of the squadron that relieved the siege of Derry in June 1689. On 28 October 1689, he was posted to the York, and commanded that vessel during the battle of Beachy Head the following year. Hopsonn's immediate commander in the battle was Sir George Rooke, who formed a high opinion of his gallantry and was afterwards much associated with him. He commanded Royal Katherine for two months starting in August 1690, before moving to command the St Michael. It was aboard the latter that he followed Rooke in the battle of Barfleur on 19 May 1692. In the same year, he was promoted to become a captain in the foot guards on the recommendation of admiral Edward Russell.

Blackbeard or Edward Teach (c.1680-1718) is one of the most infamous pirates to have ever lived.
Known for his fearsome image and daring acts on land and sea throughout the West Indies and along the North American East coast, his legacy has been the inspiration for many depictions of pirates throughout history. In possibly his most brazen act, Teach used his flotilla to blockade the port of Charlestown in the province of South Carolina. Over the course of a week, nine vessels were stopped and plundered as they attempted to sail out of the harbour, where Teach's fleet was moored.
Teach informed some of his prisoners that his fleet required medical supplies from the colonial government of South Carolina and that if none were provided, all would be beheaded and their ships burned.
Two pirates and a prisoner were sent to the town but when they did not return he moved eight ships into the harbour, causing panic and looting within the town. Shortly after his supplies were delivered and the prisoners released, after reportedly being robbed of all worthy possessions.
This siege represents the height of Teach’s notoriety, not just as a skilled captain but a fierce leader who was not confined to the sea and would maraud where he pleased. Exploits such as these made Teach was one of the most commonly reported pirates in the news and in the print of his age.


24 inches long overall, 19.25 inch long blade  read more

Code: 25380

Fabulous D-Day Collection, Medals, & Stripes, of ANCO Corporal of The Ox & Bucks Light Infantry & Later Part of the Airborne Div, Plus, An Original, Net Camouflaged, D.Day Pattern MK III 'High Rivet' Helmet.

The collection comprises group of his four British medals {unworn}, his German souvenirs of a near mint Iron Cross Ist Class in its original box, plus an Iron cross 2nd class, also near mint. Plus a D-Day Pattern MKIII high rivet helmet, with original netting and camouflaging, and his corporal's battledress stripes. The helmet may have painted regimental markings, but there is no way the net and camouflage should be removed in order to check. The German part of the collection, of the iron cross medals was sold separately.

We do not know if he qualified for more than his four medals, as his family knew not either. His German souvenir medals were put away after the war and never saw the light of day till very recently, which is why they are in superb condition. The helmet was not his original service issue, but it has been put with his collection. The German medals {which may be from an Arnham based SS Panzer Division} will be sold separately, but only his medals, stripes and D-Day MKIII camouflage helmet are sold together here under this stock code.

The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry committed three battalions to the Normandy campaign in 1944, with two landing on the 6th June 1944 - one by air, one by sea.

2nd Battalion (52nd), Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 6th Airlanding Brigade, 6th Airborne Division

Part of 6th Airborne Division, 2nd Battalion were some of the first Allied troops to arrive in Normandy when six gliders carrying D Company and elements of B Company, led by Major John Howard, landed in the early hours of 6 June. Though one of the gliders landed some distance to the east, five would land remarkably close to their objective. They successfully captured and held the River Orne and Caen Canal bridges, securing a vital bridgehead to pave the way for the advance of the allied forces that would land on the beaches. One of these bridges was renamed Pegasus Bridge after the emblem of the British Airborne, the name it is still known by today. The rest of the Battalion would arrive by glider around 9pm on 6 June, landing at the bridgehead as part of Operation Mallard.

1st Buckinghamshire Battalion, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, No. 6 Beach Group

The 1st Bucks Battalion, a territorial army battalion of the Ox & Bucks, also landed at Sword Beach on D-Day. Part of No. 6 Beach Group, an anti-tank platoon landed with the first tide, while the remainder landed with the second tide of the invasion force. The Group was responsible for organising units landing on Sword and arranging supply dumps in the area. As infantry support for the Beach Group, 1st Bucks were tasked with defending the beachhead from any counterattacks.
The Battle of Arnhem and the subsequent defence of the Oosterbeek Perimeter have passed into legend and the subject of numerous books and films, meaning that the story of the Operation is quite well known by most who have an interest in military history, what is probably less known is the contribution of the Regiment in Operation Market Garden.

Operation “Market Garden”
“Market” was the Airborne element of the operation, with three Allied Airborne Divisions being dropped behind enemy lines in Holland with the task of capturing and holding until relieved by ground forces, all the bridges along a “corridor” from the Belgian/Dutch border along a single road to the river Rhine at Arnhem.
The American 101st Airborne Division were to capture the bridges around Eindhoven, the American 82nd Airborne Division the bridges around Nijmegen and the British 1st Airborne Division along with the Polish Independent Parachute Brigade the bridges at Arnhem on the Rhine.

“Garden” was the land based element with the main thrust along the “corridor” being made by Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks’s British 30th Corps, with the 12th and 8th Corps on each flank. 30th Corps objective was to advance along the corridor linking up with the Airborne Divisions and reaching the Rhine at Arnhem within four days! From there the British 2nd Army could then cross the River Rhine, the last natural barrier, and then turn into the Ruhr and Germany itself and end the war by the end of 1944.

“This is a tale you will tell your grandchildren... …and mightily bored they’ll be”
Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks, commanding British 30th Corps
1st Battalion (43rd) Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
Operations by the 53rd (Welsh) Division in 12th Corps, containing the 43rd, aimed to protect the left flank of the land based “Garden” force, 30th Corps, pushing through the airborne corridor from Eindhoven to link up with the Market forces at Arnhem.

On 20 September the enemy withdrew through De Kruisberg, leaving a small force to cover the retreat. The 43rd followed at night to push ahead in single file through the town to protect the flank of 15th (Scottish) Division forming a bridgehead on the Wilhelmina Canal at Best.

The advance by the 43rd in the direction of Oirschot attracted heavy fire. The blown bridge at Oirschot was reached at midday on 21st and the nearside bank of the canal was made secure to protect the western flank of the Scottish Division. The canal was a formidable obstacle but could be crossed by wading infantry.
The village of Dun was captured and where Regimental Headquarters was established until 5 October.

Nijmegen, Holland - October 1944
On 5 October, the 43rd was ordered to move up to Nijmegen bridgehead as reserve battalion. The move was full of small incidents of enemy action and manoeuvre. The Battalion led the attack by 71st Brigade to liberate 's-Hertogenbosch, which was secured by 27th, but the remnants of the enemy did not withdraw completely over the Maas to the north.
The objectives of the 1st British Airborne Division were to capture and hold the bridges over the river Rhine at Arnhem, however in the end only a force slightly over battalion strength managed to reach and hold the northern approaches to the Road Bridge. Only the Second Parachute Battalion (less C company, who were separated in the town), reinforced by part of 1st Parachute Brigade HQ, individual members of 1st and 3rd Parachute Battalions and some attached arms personnel actually reached the Divisional objective – the Bridge.

The Corporal of the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry Defence Platoon, survived the debacle, escaped capture during the greater Operation Market Garden, to be evacuated.. See a photo of some of the men evacuated {but not our Ox and Bucks combatant} in the gallery.

**The price shown is for the helmet, british campaign medals and stripes, it does not include the German medals, that were for sale, though now sold, separately.
The corporals name will be past on to the next owner.  read more

Code: 25378

A Simply Captivating & Outstanding Solid Silver Mounted ‘Mermaid’ Shell Guard Hilted Sword, Likely of of an Admiral or Vice Admiral, Such as Admiral Lord Nelson’s Walpole-Suckling Silver Hunting Hanger Sword

A wonderfully pulchritudinous sword of extraordinary quality, of chiselled and engraved silver, that bears numerous embellishments in full relief of mermaids, on the shell guard and the pommel. The pommel appears to have silver hallmarks that sometime in its life have been struck out, {see photo 7 in the gallery}. there also appears to be a mermaid in the knuckle bow midsection.

The sword of choice for senior officer's {Admirals, Vice Admirals & Rear Admirals } serving in the Royal Navy during the 17th and early 18th century. We show three portraits in the gallery of admirals of the age each bearing their same swords, especially the silver hilted shell guard hilted sword of Admiral Sir Cloudesly Shovel
It is also very similar to the the Walpole-Suckling Hunting Hanger Sword believed Carried by Capt. Horatio Nelson, sold by Sotheby's special treasures sale in 2003, see photo 10 in the gallery.

Double fullered blade, cast and chiselled silver hilt with a solid antler grip made of antler of a male deer, called “hartshorn,” silver single knuckle bow bar hilt with shell guard decorated with two mermaids ether side of the anthus leaf bordered edge, and a 17th century bewigged mounted nobleman mounted on a horse possibly in combat with an armoured figure on another creature, possibly a horse but it has horns coming from its head. At the base of the shell guard is a clam shell form. Silver mounted leather scabbard with mermaid head silver frog belt mount, and long, top and bottom mounts, very finely and profusely engraved with scrolling acanthus leaves, possibly during the Georgian era. Likely made during the reigns of King William and Queen Mary or Queen Anne.

William and Mary were the co-regnants over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, namely the Dutch Prince of Orange King William III (& II) and his spouse (and first cousin) Queen Mary II. Their joint reign began in February 1689 after they were offered the throne by the Convention Parliament irregularly summoned by William after his victorious invasion of England in November 1688, the so-called Glorious Revolution. They replaced James II (& VII), Mary's father, who fled the country. Parliament offered William and Mary a co-regency, at the couple's behest. After Mary died in 1694, William ruled alone until his death in 1702. William and Mary were childless and were ultimately succeeded by Mary's younger sister, Anne.
This was the most popular form of sword used by the early British Naval Commanders when at sea. There are numerous great portraits in the National Gallery, and at the National Maritime Museum, of 17th and 18th century Admirals adorned with identical swords. Such as Admirals Benbow, Shovel et al. we show three such portraits in our gallery, of Hopsonn, Shovel and Benbow. Shovel in particular had a near identical silver shell guard hilted sword just as this one.

Vice-Admiral John Benbow (10 March 1653 – 4 November 1702) was an English Royal Navy officer. He joined the Navy in 1678, seeing action against Barbary pirates before leaving to join the Merchant Navy in which Benbow served until the 1688 Glorious Revolution, whereupon he returned to the Royal Navy and was commissioned.

Benbow fought against the French Navy during the Nine Years' War, serving on and later commanding several English warships and taking part in the battles of Beachy Head and Barfleur and La Hogue in 1690 and 1692. He went on to achieve fame during his military accomplishments, which included fighting against Barbary pirates such as the Salé Rovers, besieging Saint-Malo and seeing action in the West Indies against the French during the War of the Spanish Succession.

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell (c. November 1650 – 22 or 23 October 1707) was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and then at the Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. As a captain he fought at the Battle of Bantry Bay during the Williamite War in Ireland.

As a flag officer Shovell commanded a division at the Battle of Barfleur during the Nine Years' War, and during the battle distinguished himself by being the first to break through the enemy's line. Along with Admiral Henry Killigrew and Admiral Ralph Delaval, Shovell was put in joint command of the fleet shortly afterwards.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, Shovell commanded a squadron which served under Admiral George Rooke at the capture of Gibraltar and the Battle of Málaga. Working in conjunction with a landing force under the Earl of Peterborough, his forces undertook the siege and capture of Barcelona. He was appointed commander-in-chief of the Navy while at Lisbon the following year. He also commanded the naval element of a combined attack on Toulon, base of the main French fleet, in coordination with the Austrian army under Prince Eugene of Savoy in the summer of 1707. Later that year, on the return voyage to England, Shovell and more than 1,400 others perished in a disastrous shipwreck off the Isles of Scilly.

Thomas Hopsonn enjoyed a naval command on 18 May 1688, when James II appointed him to the Bonaventure. This ship was part of the fleet sent to The Nore under Strickland to prevent the Dutch invasion. However, Hopsonn was one of the conspirators within the fleet who supported William of Orange in the Glorious Revolution.

Following the revolution, Hopsonn retained command of the Bonaventure and was part of the squadron that relieved the siege of Derry in June 1689. On 28 October 1689, he was posted to the York, and commanded that vessel during the battle of Beachy Head the following year. Hopsonn's immediate commander in the battle was Sir George Rooke, who formed a high opinion of his gallantry and was afterwards much associated with him. He commanded Royal Katherine for two months starting in August 1690, before moving to command the St Michael. It was aboard the latter that he followed Rooke in the battle of Barfleur on 19 May 1692. In the same year, he was promoted to become a captain in the foot guards on the recommendation of admiral Edward Russell.

Overall 25 inches long in the scabbard, the blade 19 inches long  read more

Code: 25373

The Lanes Armoury, As Well As Being Referred To As Britain’s Favourite Antique Store, After Being Family Traders For Four Generations Over 100 Years, We Are Europe’s Leading Original Samurai Sword Specialists

We are the leading and pre-eminent original samurai sword specialists in the whole of Europe, in fact we know of no other specialists outside of Japan, and likely within it, that stock anywhere near the quantity of our selection. Constantly striving to achieve the very best for all our clients from around the world, our solution demanded a holistic approach and a strategic vision of what can be achieved. A solution that has effectively taken over 100 years in the making, and thus in order to be improved upon, it is evolving, constantly. However, never forgetting our old fashioned values of a personal, one to one service, dedicated for the benefit of our customers.

We even had the enormous privilege, to own and sell, although, sadly, only very briefly, thanks to the kind assistance of the most highly esteemed Japanese sword expert in England, Victor Harris, an incredibly rare and unique sword, an original, Edo period, traditionally hand made representation copy of the most famous Japanese sword in world history, the Japanese National Treasure, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (草薙の剣). It is a legendary Japanese sword and one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi (天叢雲剣, "Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds"), but its name was later changed to the more popular Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi ("Grass-Cutting Sword"). In folklore, the sword represents the virtue of valour. Victor stated it was the only example he had ever seen, possibly an official Imperial commission, to create a faithful, identical copy of the most treasured sword ever made in Japan’s history. A sword used in the coronation of the Emperor, yet even the emperor is not permitted to see it, only to place his hand upon it under a ceremonial silk cloth.
Our one time advisor, Victor Harris, was Curator, Assistant Keeper and then Keeper (1998-2003) of the Department of Japanese Antiquities, at the British Museum. Studied 1968-71 under Sato Kenzan, Tokyo National Museum and Society for the Preservation of Japanese Swords. We fondly remember many brainstorming sessions on our Japanese swords with Victor and our late colleague, Chris Fox, here in our store .

After well over 50 years personal experience as a professional dealer by Mark, since 1971, and David’s over 40 years, we are now recognised as Europe’s leading samurai sword specialists, with hundreds of swords to view and buy online 24/7, or, within our store, on a personal visit, 6 days a week. In fact we know of no better and varied original samurai sword selection for sale under one roof outside of Japan, or probably, even within it. Hundreds of original pieces up to 800 years old. Whether we are selling to our clients representing museums around the globe, the world’s leading collectors, or simply a first time buyer, we offer our advice and guidance in order to assist the next custodian of a fine historical Japanese sword, to make the very best and entirely holistic choice combination, of a sword and it’s fittings.

But that of course is just one small part of the story and history of The Lanes Armoury, and the Hawkins brothers, as the world famous arms armour, militaria & book merchants

Both of the partners of the company have spent literally all of their lives surrounded by objects of history, trained, almost since birth in the arts, antiques and militaria. Supervised and mentored, first by their grandfathers, then their father, who left the RAF sometime after the war, to become one of the leading antique exporters and dealers in the entire world. Selling, around the globe, through our network of numerous shops, warehouses, and antique export companies, in today’s equivalent, hundreds of millions of pounds of our antiques and works of art.

Both Mark and David were incredibly fortunate to be mentored by some of the world’s leading experts within their fields of antiques and militaria. For example, just to mention two of Mark’s diverse mentors, one was Edward ‘Ted’ Dale, who was one of Britains most highly respected and leading experts on antiques, he was chief auctioneer and managing director in the 1960’s and 70’s of Bonham’s Auctioneers of London, now one of the worlds highest ranked auction companies, and at the other end of the spectrum, there was Bill ‘Yorkie’ Cole, the company’s ‘keeper of horse’, who revelled in the title of the company’s ‘head stable boy’, right up until his 90’s, in fact he refused to retire, he simply ‘faded away’. He controlled our stables and dozens of horse drawn vehicles up to the 1970’s. He was a true Brighton character, whose experiences in the antique trade went way back to WW1, and, amongst other skills, he taught young Mark, as a teenager in the 1960’s, to drive a horse drawn pantechnicon with ‘Dolly’, Britain’s last surviving English dray horse that was trained for night driving in the ‘blackout’ during the blitz. See a photo of the company pantechnicon and 'Dolly' in the gallery

Mark has been a director and partner in the family businesses since 1971, specialising in elements of the family business that varied from the acquisition and export of vintage cars, mostly Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Aston Martins and Lagondas, to America, to the complete restoration and furnishing of a historical Sussex Georgian country Manor House for his late mother from the ground up, but long before that he was handling and buying swords and flintlocks since he was just seven years old, obviously in a very limited way though, naturally.

David jnr, Mark’s younger brother, also started collecting militaria when he was seven, in fact he became the youngest firearms dealer licence holder in the country, and it was he that convinced Mark that concentrating on militaria and rare books was the future for our world within the antique trade, and as you will by now guess, history, antiques, books and militaria are simply in their blood.

Thus, around 40 years ago, they decided to sell their export business and concentrate where their true hearts lie, in the world of military history and its artefacts, from antiquity to the 20th century. From fine and rare books and first editions, to antiquities and the greatest historical and beautiful samurai swords to be found. One photo in the gallery was one of the rarest books we have ever had, some years ago, a Great Gatsby Ist edition they can now command up to $360,000

One photo in the gallery is of Mark, some few years ago with his then new lockdown companion at the farm, ‘Cody’, named after Buffalo Bill naturally. Cody is now somewhat bigger! .Another photo is of two of our ten company trucks photographed just after their delivery from the signwriters. As you can see we always enjoyed a very old fashioned British tradition of having our vehicles fully liveried, hand sign written and artistically painted by our local and very talented artisans. Vehicles that ranged from our many horse drawn vehicles, to our 1930’s Bedford generator lorry that doubled up during WW2 as a mobile searchlight for the local anti-aircraft artillery installations, and then to our more modern fleet from the 1950’s to the 1980’s. The green liveried Leyland truck in the photograph was hand painted with a massive representation of the scene of the chariot race from Chuck Heston’s movie spectacular Ben Hur, and on the other side a huge copy of Lady Butler’s Charge of the Heavy Brigade. Each painting took over three months to complete. When we called Chuck in America to show him the completed livery, painted in his honour, he was delighted and very impressed and promised to visit us again to see it personally in all its glory, sadly his filming schedules for his 1970’s blockbuster disaster movies such as ‘Earthquake’ prevented it. Chuck was recommended to us years before by one of his co-stars in Solyent Green, one of Hollywood’s true greats, {alongside Chuck} Edward G. Robinson, who used to buy, undervalued {then}, impressionist paintings from David snr in the 1960’s.  read more

Code: 24364

Original Ancient Roman ‘Cross-bow” Fibula Bronze Toga Pin Military Issue, Fine Piece For Higher Ranking Figures in the Legion, Such As a Centurion or Tribune

Bow Fibula with a folded or rolled sleeve hinge, c. Early Imperial - Beginning of 2nd Century. We acquired a very small collection of roman toga pins, from super, small collection of original, historical, Imperial Roman and Crusader's artefacts
Shaped in the form of a roman military crossbow fibula, in bronze.
It became the most popular form of closure for Roman fibulae, and is characteristic of the bow brooches from the early imperial times to the beginning of the 2nd century. Outside the Roman Empire and after that time, this type of hinge was seldom used. The sleeve hinge consists of a small sleeve at the top of the head which is forged from a square sheet metal plate and then rolled up. In a center-cut slot, the spiked needle is inserted and held by a shaft (usually iron) passing through the whole sleeve. At the ends of each of the Aucissa fibulae and their early successors were buttons holding the hinge axis; later, the hinge axis was clamped in the sleeve and needed no buttons. The needle always carries a thorn-like projection on its perforated oval plate, which beats against the head of the fibula and, by virtue of this resistance, causes the suspension to spring forth. The sleeve hinge is used exclusively in bow fibulae. The needle is primarily rectilinear, but bends hand in hand with the flattening of the bow to the outside to continue to leave enough space between the bracket and needle. The sleeve hinge is considered a typical Roman construction. The paludamentum was usually worn over one shoulder and fastened with a fibula (ancient version of a safety pin). Arguments abound over what shoulder was exposed, but it seems fairly clear that the garment was fastened loosely enough to move around, The paludamentum was a cloak that was specifically associated with warfare. A general donned one for the ceremonial procession leading an army out of the sacred precinct of the city of Rome and was required to remove it before returning to the city…a sign that he was no longer a general, but a common citizen. The paludamentum or sagum purpura (purple cloak) was the iconic red cloak worn by a Roman general (Legatus) and his staff officers. Originally, it’s distinctive red/purple color clearly delineated between these officers and the rest of the army, which sported the sagum gregale (cloak of the flock). Although the sagum gregale, worn by the rank and file, started out the color of the flock (i.e. undyed wool), it seems likely to have transitioned to a coarser version of the sagum purpura by the imperial period (27BCE – 476CE). Outfitting the entire army in red garments would have been a mark of the great wealth of Rome – well, that and the fact that the Romans controlled the source of purple dye by then.The pin is now frozen through two millennia in a fixed position. Fibula 47mm x 22mm [not incuding pin] 68mm long x 22mm including the pin extended  read more

Code: 23985

A Superb, Original, 15th Century Tanged Lance Head From the Battle Of Agincourt of 1415 . Acquired in the 1820's at a ‘Grand Tour’ Battle Site

We were most delighted to have acquired a stunning collection of ancient bronze age weaponry, Medieval weaponry and a few other artefacts, including this stunning, and rare, steel pole-arm. Items such as this were oft acquired in the 18th century by touring famous battle sites in Northern France, Italy and the Ottoman Empire on their 1820’s Grand Tour. Originally placed on display in the family 'cabinet of curiosities', within their family estate country home upon their return to Britain. A popular pastime in the 18th and 19th century, comprised of English ladies and gentlemen traveling for many months, or even years, througout classical Europe and the Middle East, acquiring antiquities and antiques from ancient battle sites, such as the French sites at Agincourt, Crecy and Poitiers, for their private collections at home. One such family’s descendants have been allowing us to purchase such wonderful pieces from their family collection for around the past 30 years. These pole-arms were used at Agincourt by both English and French knights on horseback as a lance, and by the English and French men-at-arms on foot as a pole-arm or pike. However the French men at arms shortened their original long woodened hafts further which gave them a huge disadvantage in the battle's melee against the longer reach of the English. In superb condition for age, and a very fine quality piece, much superior than a regular lance or spearhead of the time. Armour-protected knights charged on horseback wielding lances ten to eleven feet long (cut down to as short as five feet by both the French and English at the Battle of Agincourt). The age ended with the rise of the bowmen in the fourteenth century. While the devastating volleys of English longbow men had initiated the change at Crecy on August 26, 1346, it was massed bodies of pikemen that really thwarted cavalry charges, as they did at the Battle of Pavia in 1525. Large quantities of lances would also have been used at Agincourt by men-at-arms. The small mounted French force at the battle tasked with driving off the English archers would have been equipped with this weapon. The vast majority of the French men-at-arms, and all of the English, were dismounted but still used lances at Agincourt. The English had an advantage over the French at the battle however, because the latter had decided to shorten their lances to give them greater control over their weapons prior to the battle. This proved to be a mistake during the melee as the longer English lances meant that they had a greater reach and were able to push over the French. One account of the lance used at Agincourt involved an assault on King Henry himself." under the banner of the Lord of Croy, eighteen gentlemen banded themselves together of their own choice, and swore that when the two parties should come to meet they would strive with all their might to get so near the King of England that they would beat down the crown from his head, or they would die, as they did; but before this they got so near the said King that one of them with the lance which he held struck him such a blow on his helmet that he knocked off one of the ornaments of his crown. But not long afterwards it only remained that the eighteen gentlemen were all dead and cut to pieces; which was a great pity; for if every one of the French had been willing thus to exert himself, it is to be believed that their affairs would have gone better on this day. And the leaders of these gentlemen were Louvelet de Massinguehem and Garnot de Bornouille" King Henry V of England led his troops into battle and participated in hand-to-hand fighting. The French king of the time, Charles VI, did not command the French army himself, as he suffered from severe psychotic illnesses with moderate mental incapacitation. Instead, the French were commanded by Constable Charles d'Albret and various prominent French noblemen of the Armagnac party.

This battle is notable for the use of the English longbow in very large numbers, with the English and Welsh archers forming up to 80 percent of Henry's army. The decimation of the French cavalry at their hands is regarded as an indicator of the decline of cavalry and the beginning of the dominance of ranged weapons on the battlefield.

Agincourt is one of England's most celebrated victories. The battle is the centrepiece of the play Henry V by Shakespeare. Juliet Barker in her book Agincourt: The King, the Campaign, the Battle ( published in 2005) argues the English and Welsh were outnumbered "at least four to one and possibly as much as six to one". She suggests figures of about 6,000 for the English and 36,000 for the French, based on the Gesta Henrici's figures of 5,000 archers and 900 men-at-arms for the English, and Jean de Wavrin's statement "that the French were six times more numerous than the English". The 2009 Encyclop?dia Britannica uses the figures of about 6,000 for the English and 20,000 to 30,000 for the French. Overall 20.5 inches long in very sound and nice condition for age. There are very few such surviving lances from this era, and just a few are part of the Royal Collection. As with all our items it comes complete with our certificate of authenticity. Almost every iron weapon that has survived today from this era is now in a russeted condition, however this one, is relatively lightly russeted. Usually only the swords of kings, that have been preserved in national or Royal collections are today still in a reasonable state and condition. The wooden hafts simply never survive from being lost in the ground for so many centuries  read more

Code: 23022

An Eastern Roman Empire Battle War Axe 4th - 10th Cent. A.D.

This is a typical axe for the Eastern Roman Empire legionary and warrior. From the time of Emperor Constantine 'The Great' and used to The beginning of Byzantium period.

The Battle of Cibalae was fought in 316 between the two Roman emperors Constantine I (r. 306–337) and Licinius (r. 308–324). The site of the battle, near the town of Cibalae (now Vinkovci, Croatia) in the Roman province of Pannonia Secunda, was approximately 350 kilometers within the territory of Licinius. Constantine won a resounding victory, despite being outnumbered.
The opposing armies met on the plain between the rivers Sava and Drava near the town of Cibalae (Vinkovci). The battle lasted all day. The battle opened with Constantine's forces arrayed in a defile adjacent to mountain slopes. The army of Licinius was stationed on lower ground nearer the town of Cibalae, Licinius took care to secure his flanks. As the infantry of Constantine needed to move forward through broken ground, the cavalry was thrown out ahead, to act as a screen. Constantine moved his formation down on to the more open ground and advanced against the awaiting Licinians. Following a period of skirmishing and intense missile fire at a distance, the opposing main bodies of infantry met in close combat and fierce hand-to-hand fighting ensued. This battle of attrition was ended, late in the day, when Constantine personally led a cavalry charge from the right wing of his army. The charge was decisive, Licinius' ranks were broken. As many as 20,000 of Licinius' troops were killed in the hard-fought battle. The surviving cavalry of the defeated army accompanied Licinius when he fled the field under the cover of darkness
It is a matter of debate when the Roman Empire officially ended and transformed into the Byzantine Empire. Most scholars accept that it did not happen at one time, but that it was a slow process; thus, late Roman history overlaps with early Byzantine history. Constantine I (the Great) is usually held to be the founder of the Byzantine Empire. He was responsible for several major changes that would help create a Byzantine culture distinct from the Roman past.

As emperor, Constantine enacted many administrative, financial, social, and military reforms to strengthen the empire. The government was restructured and civil and military authority separated. A new gold coin, the solidus, was introduced to combat inflation. It would become the standard for Byzantine and European currencies for more than a thousand years. As the first Roman emperor to claim conversion to Christianity, Constantine played an influential role in the development of Christianity as the religion of the empire. In military matters, the Roman army was reorganised to consist of mobile field units and garrison soldiers capable of countering internal threats and barbarian invasions. Constantine pursued successful campaigns against the tribes on the Roman frontiers the Franks, the Alamanni, the Goths, and the Sarmatians, and even resettled territories abandoned by his predecessors during the turmoil of the previous century.

The age of Constantine marked a distinct epoch in the history of the Roman Empire. He built a new imperial residence at Byzantium and renamed the city Constantinople after himself (the laudatory epithet of New Rome came later, and was never an official title). It would later become the capital of the empire for over one thousand years; for this reason the later Eastern Empire would come to be known as the Byzantine Empire. His more immediate political legacy was that, in leaving the empire to his sons, he replaced Diocletian’s tetrarchy (government where power is divided among four individuals) with the principle of dynastic succession. His reputation flourished during the lifetime of his children, and for centuries after his reign. The medieval church upheld him as a paragon of virtue, while secular rulers invoked him as a prototype, a point of reference, and the symbol of imperial legitimacy and identity. The Varangian Guard was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army, whose members served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine Emperors. The Varangian Guard was known for being primarily composed of recruits from northern Europe, including Norsemen from Scandinavia and Anglo-Saxons from England. The recruitment of distant foreigners from outside Byzantium to serve as the emperor's personal guard was pursued as a deliberate policy, as they lacked local political loyalties and could be counted upon to suppress revolts by disloyal Byzantine factions. This axes form and evolution; A somewhat similar correspondent to the type 1 of the classification made by the Kirpichnikov for the early Russian axes. Particularly, it seems akin to the specimens of Goroditsche and Opanowitschi, dated in the turn of 10th - 11th centuries however, its shape is slightly different, and considering the strong influence of the Roman Armies on the Russian ones in 11th century.
The general Nikephoros Ouranos remembers in his Taktika (56, 4) that small axes were used at the waist of the selected archers of infantry : "You must select proficient archers - the so called psiloi - four thousand. These men must have fifty arrows each in their quivers, two bows, small shields and extra bowstrings. Let them also have swords at the waist, or axes, or slings in their belts".

The axe was inserted in its wooden shaft and fixed to it by means of dilatation of the wood, dampened by water. The Byzantine Empire is the great Greek-language Christian empire that emerged after 395AD from the eastern part of the Roman Empire, Thanks to efficient government and clever diplomacy that divided its many enemies, the empire survived. Much diminished after 1204 AD when it was sacked by Christian Crusaders from the west en route to liberate Jerusalem, it finally fell to the Turks in 1453--indeed its fall is often used to date the end of the Middle Ages. Its capital was Constantinople, built on the site of the Greek colony of Byzantium and which is now known as Istanbul). The center of Orthodox Christianity, it is famous as well for its art and culture. The inhabitants of the empire referred to themselves as 'Romans' and considered themselves as such, the term 'Byzantine' not being used to describe the empire and its peoples until the seventeenth century, but after the seventh century the language of empire changed from Latin to Greek. Almost every iron weapon that has survived today from this era is now in a fully russetted condition, as is this one, because only the swords of kings, that have been preserved in national or Royal collections are today still in a good state and condition.  read more

Code: 22671

Another Reason To Visit Brighton-by-the-Sea This Summer. To Visit the Magnificent Pavilion Palace & View ‘The Encampment At Brighton’, by Francis Wheatley, RA, 1747-1801. Which We Were Most Proud To Assist & Enable It’s Donation to Brighton 50 Years Ago

Two years ago we celebrated the completion of a multi million pound three year restoration of the main saloon in the Royal Pavilion palace in Brighton, and we are continually humbled to know that our family donation enabled the premier work of art, of a depiction of an hussars regiment, encamped in the hills above Brighton, by Francis Wheatley RA, and thus to be saved for posterity for the Brighton Museum collection.
Possibly their most famous work of art, certainly one of their best. 'The Encampment at Brighton', is a major work by Francis Wheatley RA (1747?1801). (b London, 1747; d London, 28 June 1801). A most fine English painter of his day in the reign of King George IIIrd. His early works were mainly small full-length portraits and conversation pieces in the manner of Zoffany. In 1779 he moved to Dublin to escape creditors, and after his return to London in 1783 his work broadened in scope. It included landscapes, history paintings, and life-size portraits, but he is best known for works produced to be engraved for the Georgian print market. His works now reside in the government collection, the Royal Collection and many of the finest museums and collections around the country.
We were delighted to have enabled its acquisition, back in 1973, and over the past few decades we have been pleased to know of its permanent presence in the City collection, saved for posterity and enabling the museums visitors to view this magnificent work based and painted in Brighton in the 1790's.
Any visitors to Brighton this summer, who make a visit to our world famous store, The Lanes Armoury, ought to consider visiting Brighton Museum as part of your visit, in order to view its superb collection, and especially visit our magnificent Royal Pavilion, former summer palace of King George IVth, {former the Prince Regent} donated to Brighton by Her Majesty Queen Victoria, and considered today, by many, to be the most wonderful palace of its kind in the world.

A joyous combination of Indo-Chinese architecture and fine art. A magnificent example of the Royal Family’s diversity, 200 years before the word even became known, and as so significant as it is today.

Brighton has been for centuries a long exponent of diversity, and without doubt certainly one of the best most loved and diverse cities in the entire world. For example, during World War I, the Royal Pavilion palace’s royal stables, that later became the world famous Dome Theatre, was turned over to become a hospital for the desperately wounded, heroic, Indian, volunteer soldiers, it is said that many Indian soldiers when they recovered consciousness and awoke in the palace, believed they had died and gone to heaven, which was a recreation of an Indian Palace.
It was almost 60 years later The Dome Theatre was the host venue of ABBA’s very first public explosion on to the world stage, in fact Mark, {the Lanes Armoury’s elder partner} was coincidentally there in person, just outside the stage area, listening to their very first hit, Waterloo, {somewhat ironic with our Waterloo interest} at the Eurovision Song Contest over 50 years ago.

The Royal Pavilion contains some of the finest and most magnificent Chinoiserie works of art to seen anywhere in the world. Some of the original Prince’s treasures were, very recently, just returned from the Buckingham Palace Royal Apartments, to be once more placed on display in the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, as one of the last, and personal benevolent instructions of Her Late Well Beloved Majesty Queen Elizabeth IInd. In order that once more, our city, and it’s millions of visitors, can enjoy the fabulous royal treasures in their original, former, location, the magnificent home of the Prince Regent.

Somewhat like us at The Lanes Armoury, the Royal Pavilion is certainly not one of the largest of the world’s Royal Palaces, in fact, it is possibly one of the smallest, but it is considered, by many, to be the very best.

We also show in the gallery a painting by Richard {Dickie} Compton, commissioned by our family from the artist, of our Holland & Holland, London to Bath and Wells, Royal Mail Road Coach, passing in front of the statue of The Prince Regent, which itself is in front of the Royal Pavilion. The road coach, later photographed, still in use in 1969, outside of the gates to the Royal Pavillion, and the oil painting are part of the late Camilla Hawkins Collection.

As like many Brightonians, our personal family connections to the palace go back since it was first built, over two hundred years ago. Our family used to supply shellfish from the shores off Brighton for His Majesty’s table {we held the shellfish concession for many decades in the 18th and 19th century}. A family member worked in the staff -a very lowly position naturally, bearing in mind, our family history, always was, and still is, in ‘trade’, once considered by 19th century ‘society’ to be, at the time, as not particularly in much higher regard than *coster mongers-. We later owned the annex of the Royal Stables, a stable yard around 100 yards from the palace, now demolished and on the site of the current My Hotel in Jubilee Street. And in the early 1970’s Mark purchased from an elderly farmer in the North, the original huge pump organ made for the Prince Regent’s music room in the palace. But it was either never installed, or, if it was, it was not much later removed by Queen Victoria, and sold off. When Mark bought it, it had the original schematic and plans for installation, which were magnificent in their beauty and detail, somewhat like the architects plans much have been for the original palace. We offered to donate it to the Palace Trustees in the 1970’s, but it was refused as impractical to re-install, unless we paid for its installation, but the cost involved would have been prohibitively astronomical. So, we sold it to an Australian diocese instead, and apparently it was installed not much later in an Australian Cathedral.

* coster monger or hawker, A costermonger, coster, or costard was a street seller of fruit and vegetables, sometimes fish, in British towns. The term is derived from the words costard (a medieval variety of apple) and monger (seller), and later came to be used to describe hawkers in general. In fact our family name, Hawkins, was a medieval derivative from Hawker, which would therefore, have been our family trade and social position in the post Roman occupation era. Pretty low down the social scale, before our family moved to Plymouth, and our seafaring nature brought some element of success, and thus the elevation with a knighthood for Sir John Hawkins, and Sir Francis Drake, his cousin, who was later Admiral for Queen Elizabeth Ist. Drake was John’s cousin due to being adopted by William Hawkins, famed seafarer of Plymouth, and thought to have been adopted, as possibly being his bastard son.
Sir Francis Drake's heraldic achievement and coat of arms contains the motto, Sic Parvis Magna, which means: "Great achievements from small beginnings". Drake became the first Englishman to navigate the Straits of Magellan, a sea route at the southern tip of South America linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans  read more

Code: 21652

An Original & Superb Imperial Roman Bronze Ring, The Type Worn by the Praetorian Guard, Personal Guard of the Emperor 1st Century AD From the Time of Julio-Claudian Emperors, Augustus, Tiberious, Caligula, Claudius & Nero

Founded by Emperor Augustus the Praetorian Guard were the personal guard of the Emperor, that answered to no one but him. However, the Praetorians notoriously assassinated 13 of their Roman Emperors that it was sworn to protect, and on one occasion they even auctioned off the emperors throne to the highest bidder. So, as the expressions goes, nobody's perfect.

1st century AD. An Imperial Roman heavy copper alloy bronze ring. The form of ring worn by the Praetorian Guard, being classified as Henig type 1, Classified by the seminal classification of ancient ring forms, by Dr. Martin Henig, and Geraud type 1b; From the Julio-Claudian dynasty (27 BC – AD 68).

The last example we had, around 3 years ago, but that was adorned with an engraving likely to denote higher rank of the wearer, this one is unadorned.

Most of our antiquities and artefacts are from 200 year past souvenir accumulations from British ‘Grand Tours’. Beautiful Items and antiquities were oft acquired in the 18th and early 19th century by British noblemen and women touring battle sites in Northern France and Italy, in fact most of Europe and the Middle East, on their so-called ‘Grand Tour’. They were often placed on display upon their return home, within the family’s ‘cabinet of curiosities’, within their country house. Some significant British stately homes had entire galleries displaying the treasures and artefacts gathered and purchased on such tours, and some tours lasted many years, and the accumulated souvenirs numbered in their hundreds or even thousands

The Praetorian Guard was a fixture of the imperial era, but their origins date back to groups of elite soldiers that protected generals during the Roman Republic. As early as the second century B.C., special units were selected to shadow famed Roman leaders such as Marc Antony, Scipio Africanus and Lucius Cornelius Sulla whenever they ventured into the field. Julius Caesar later enlisted his tenth legion as personal security, but the Praetorian Guard as we know it didn’t appear until shortly after Augustus became Rome’s first emperor in 27 B.C. After ascending to the throne, Augustus established his own imperial guards comprised of nine cohorts of 500 to 1,000 men each.

The unit would endure as a symbol of imperial might for over 300 years. By A.D. 23, it even operated out of its own fortress, the Castra Praetoria, located on the outskirts of Rome. The Praetorian Guard often handled crowd control at the Roman games, but they occasionally stepped into the arena and played an active role in the bloodshed. There is evidence that the Guard took part in gruesome wild beast hunts to demonstrate their combat prowess, and they played a notorious role in a “naumachia,” or staged sea battle, hosted by Emperor Claudius in A.D. 52. The spectacle saw as many as 19,000 men and some 100 boats clash in a mock naval engagement on the Fucine Lake. Most of the participants were prisoners and slaves, and the Praetorians, armed with catapults and ballistae, surrounded the battle on rafts to add to the mayhem and prevent any of the condemned from escaping.

The Praetorians’ may have been tasked with protecting the Roman Emperor, but they were also the single greatest threat to his life. The unit was a major player in the webs of deceit that characterized imperial Rome, and they were willing to slaughter and install new emperors when tempted by promises of money or power.
Disgruntled Praetorians famously engineered the assassination of Caligula and the selection of Claudius as his successor in A.D. 41. Among others, the Guard or their prefect also played a part in the murder of Commodus in 192, Caracalla in 217, Elagabalus in 222 and Pupienus and Balbinus in 238. In some cases, the Praetorians were partially responsible for both installing andmurdering a would-be emperor. Galba ascended the throne in A.D. 68 after winning the support of the Guard, only to be killed at their hands the following year after he neglected to properly reward them. Likewise, Emperor Pertinax was confirmed by the Praetorians in 193 and then slain just three months later when he tried to force them to accept new disciplinary measures.

In general the majority of rings recovered in provincial cities were made of bronze from local workshops. The most common alloy employed for the largest number of ornaments and with the greatest variety of shapes was brass, the alloy of copper and zinc. The high number of alloys with a different composition indicates that there was a significantly increased demand for jewellery similar in colour to precious metal, but cheaper and easy to produce..For examples see; Cf. Henkel, F., Die Römischen Fingerringe der Rheinlande und der Benachbarten Gebiete, Berlin, 1913, items 168, 202a,959 and 1785, for types.

Size R {UK}, a good comfortable wearable size, and sound heavy quality, and a remarkably smooth and exceptionally well preserved surface patina

Every single item from The Lanes Armoury is accompanied by our unique Certificate of Authenticity. Part of our continued dedication to maintain the standards forged by us over the past 100 years of our family’s trading  read more

Code: 25082