Armour

Catalogued as ‘fine and exceptionally rare’, a north German parade cuirass is on its way to the Art Institute of Chicago after being sold at auction.

Such was the demand for suits of armour from late 19th and early 20th century collectors that European master armourers were kept hard at work long after the practical need for such protective wear had passed.

The Munich auction house Hermann Historica (25% buyer’s premium) is renowned for its huge multi-catalogue sales series, but on September 25 it mounted a special, selected sale of works of art held at Schloss Greding, south of Nuremburg.

Armour made a strong showing at the sale held in Sarzana by Italian arms specialist Czerny (20% buyer’s premium) on September 19.

Two eye-catching but very different armours, one suited to royal palace style and the other more to purist taste, captured bidders’ attention at a London sale.

A collection of Japanese arms and armour is a key feature of Cowan’s arms and armour auction to be held in Cincinnati on September 2.

A 16th century composite suit of armour that had been assembled by a specialist curator in this field at the Metropolitan Museum of Art proved to be the toast of a sale held by Morphy.

Rare and well-preserved armour from pre-history to the 17th century was well received in the pre-Christmas sales. Three examples are pictured here.

A rifle from the personal armoury of Tipu Sultan sold for £60,000 in Oxfordshire last week.

It has not been a vintage season for armour in the saleroom, but some of the recent highlights from London and Munich are shown here.

A famous royal regiment was remembered at the Peter Francis (20% buyer’s premium) auction in Carmarthen.

Thomas Del Mar (24% buyer’s premium) sold the first instalment of de-accessioned arms and armour from the John Woodman Higgins Museum in Massachusetts back in 2013 and a second in 2014.

For many years auctioneers have been itching to move the finest arms and armour from the province of the specialist collector and establish them with a wider audience as works of art in their own right.

A superb set of decorated armour sold at Sotheby’s (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) is believed to have set a record. The £880,000 hammer price for the three-quarter-length cuirassier protection is believed to be the highest auction result for 17th century armour.