Sword

Specialist buyers turn out in force to bid for rusty ‘warts and all’ weapons amassed by dealer-collector

Birmingham-born Roy Elvis (1944- 2022) inherited his family interest in antiques and started collecting furniture and decorative arts from an early age.

Top result from the October 26 arms and armour auction at Munich saleroom Hermann Historica (25% buyer’s premium) was a 5ft 6in (1.67m) two-hand sword made by the acclaimed bladesmith Wolfgang Stantler II of Passau, c.1580.

Estimated at just £60-90, this English Civil War-era mortuary sword sold for £2300 at Unique Auctions (22.5% buyer’s premium) in Lincoln on October 22.

A group of father-and-son lots related to the Royal Navy may have been small in size but revealed a combined service in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars that was lengthy.

A composite German full armour, c.1500-10, from a European Collection was one of the highlights of Thomas Del Mar’s (25% buyer’s premium) sale of Fine Antique Arms, Armour & Militaria held at Olympia Auctions on June 29.

Whatever Mr Derbyshire, The Worthy Representative of Freedom Loving Great Britain was doing in the Caucasus in 1920, the Armenians of Karabach were obviously pretty pleased about it.

A Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund sword of £100 value took the honours at a Bonhams’ (27.5/25/20/14.5% buyer’s premium) sale of arms and armour.

A sword sold at Kent auction house C&T (22% buyer’s premium) belonged to a British Antarctic explorer who died in 1912 – but not with Robert Falcon Scott.

A remarkable garniture of weapons including the sword Napoleon is believed to have carried when he seized power in 1799 sold at an Illinois auction house.

Estimated at £200-300, this kaskara sold for £8200 at Dawsons (23% buyer’s premium) in Maidenhead on October 28.

Irish castle home of earls about to be turned into hotel and spa furnishes a remarkable sale

The prize lot sold at a recent Hermann Historica (25% buyer’s premium) sale in Munich was this 19th century Ottoman kilij of characteristic form with a curved blade swelling towards the tip.

The outstanding lot in the arms and armour sale held in London on June 30 by Thomas Del Mar (25% buyer’s premium) was the £96,000 16th century Augsburg close helmet illustrated on the front page of last week’s ATG (No 2501).

On May 18 Paris auction firm Tessier Sarrou is selling the first part of a collection of Japanese swords.

Even the composite parts of weapons now long lost have a value at auction.

Lawrences’ (25% buyer’s premium) sale in Crewkerne on September 10 featured three swords that came to auction from the family of the ‘Father of the RAF’: Viscount Trenchard GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO (1873-1956).

This Royal Navy Reserve officer’s sword owned by Robert Erskine Childers was estimated at €3000-5000 in a recent auction by Mullen’s (20/12.5% buyer’s premium) in Bray, Co Dublin. The scabbard throat of the Victorian 1827-pattern sword is engraved 'RE Childers'.