A Stunning Quality Wakazashi Signed with Honorific Title Masatoshi, Lord of Etchu, Han Dachi Mounted, Gold Dragon Menuki, Blade Mishina School Early 1600's, Wonderful Signed Tsuba and Matching Kozuka Depicting the Tiger in the Bamboo Grove

We now are delighted to show it with its fully rebound tsuka in gold silk. The tsuka has been rebound traditionally, in finest gold tsukaito by our medal winning Japanese koshirae artisan, and it looks amazing.

Mishina School, Etchu (no) Kami Masatoshi. The stunning blade shows a beautiful and complex hamon in super polish. All original Edo mounts, superb signed tsuba and kozuka all decorated with the legendary the Tiger in the Bamboo Grove theme. The kodsuka is signed, as is the kogatana blade

* Tsuba signed Taizan Mototaka of Mito/Hitachi. Mototaka, was the founder of the Sekijoken line, was a son of Taizan-Motonori, a pupil of the Yokoya school, who signed his work Sekijoken-Taizan-Mototaka. He worked during the last part of the eighteenth century and lived to a great age. He was most skillful in the style of the Nara artists, Joi, Shozui, Yasuchika, Toshinaga, etc., and a teacher of great ability, his most expert pupil was Takase-Yeiju (or Hisan- aga), who worked during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

The artists of the Sekijoken school at first followed the style of Yokoya, but later they turned to the Nara school. Tigers were considered the strongest animals. They were often shown with bamboo to symbolize the hospitality of the weak for the strong. In Chinese art, the tiger was traditionally related to the four directions as the animal
of the West, and was often paired with the dragon, which represented the East. Kano artists frequently depicted tigers with holy men, abbots, or monks, reflecting their mystic presence and association with Zen Buddhism. A tiger is said to be the only animal capable of navigating through thick bamboo forests, and the pairing of the two symbols is said to represent a harmonious and peaceful society. The bamboo alone stands for resilience and integrity, admired virtues of noble men.

Incredible quality pure gold overlay dragon menuki, gold overlaid seppa. Fully matching suite of handachi iron fittings trimmed in gold with patterning silver overlay. The original Edo saya has superb antique urushi lacquer with pure gold under clear lacquer beautifully decorated with amazingly intricate billowing flaming-feather like swirls

Kyo Go Kaji 京五鍜冶 is short for Kyoto Go Kaji 京都五鍜冶 which means five swordsmiths of Kyoto. The term was developed to describe a group of related smiths who worked prosperously in the Kyoto area during shinto times. They made good quality works with similar characteristics and each had many students for generations. They are Iga (no) Kami Kinmichi 伊賀守金道, Echigo (no) Kami Kinmichi 越後守金道, Tanba (no) Kami Yoshimichi 丹波守吉道, Etchu (no) Kami Masatoshi 越中守正俊 and Omi (no) Kami Hisamichi 近江守久道. These smiths all had Mishina 三品 as their last name. The first four were sons of Seki Kanemichi 兼道 and Hisamichi was a student of Kanemichi's grandson.

In photo 5 in the gallery we show the stunning gold dragon menuki before they were rebound under the tsuka-ito.

* Notes from the Special exhibition
( 1907-1908 ) of Japanese sword guards, tsuba,
has been prepared by Mr. Okabe-Kakuya.  read more

Code: 25337

Visit Us At The Lanes Armoury In Brighton, Open 6 Days a Week, Rain or Shine. However, on Saturday & Sunday August 3rd, & 4th, Pride Weekend The Ground Floor Shop Will Be Closed {As Usual}.

As our family businesses {family motto; Gloria Antika} have been based in Brighton Lanes for over 100 years we are known around the world to dealers, historians, military families, museum curators, tv and movie companies, collectors and regular tourists alike.

Brighton will be swamped with an extra few hundred thousand visitors on Pride Weekend this coming 3rd and 4th of August. But, just as last year, we closed for the weekend, {we never open on Sundays anyway} as all the main town centre access roads will be closed from Friday night until Sunday evening. It was a fabulous weekend last year for all the local ‘service’ shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, pubs, hotels etc. but the retail stores will mostly close. If you are visiting Brighton then, enjoy, it is a wonderful experience, and great joy and fun will be had by all. Our first and top floor web-store office and apartments will be open as usual 24/7, for the whole weekend, but not the ground floor-gallery shop. But, you can contact us here by phone, or email the partners wherever they may be anytime. But please be patient for a reply.

Our family representatives have travelled to Tokyo by personal invitation last Monday, and then on to Beijing, China in a weeks time,
They were invited to see the Brighton & Hove Albion, aka the ‘Seagulls’ in Tokyo, and watch them play the ‘Kashima Antlers’ in the Japanese National Stadium last Wednesday. Well Done Seagulls!. They won that particular match, yet the result was all taken with jolly good grace, and the reception by the Japanese locals was simply fantastic.

These visits may bear interesting fruit, we will hopefully let our Far Eastern Artefact collectors know in mid August

In the past week, as usual, we have had hundreds of visitors journeying especially to visit us from such places as Scandinavia, {including Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Greenland} from Europe, {France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany} Lichtenstein and Switzerland, and from North America, Central America and South America. Plus our usual Summer visitors from the Far East, such as Japan and Singapore.
Due to our unique, generations long presence, visitors, in their hundreds of thousands from all around the globe travel to Brighton every year, through every season, and visit our gallery whether to buy, sell or simply view.
Consequently this means that every day, descendants of old war veterans from past wars may bring their treasures and heirlooms to sell, or even just to enquire about their potential story if they are unknown to them. If we can help we are delighted to assist, and we never, ever charge. It is entirely free and offered with the greatest of pleasure, in fact it happens often over 50 times a day, week in week out.

It is why we are able to offer, often unique souvenirs of combat veterans, sometimes remarkable, sometimes not so, but all are unique in their own way.

The story of Brighton {formerly Brighthelmstone};

It first came to the notice of King William the Conqueror when it was listed in the Domesday Book in 1086, when it was then called Brighthelmstone. The oldest still surviving part of Brighton is the old Lanes, {now called The South Lanes} where we are based, and during its earliest history it was a simple farming and fishing community, only 14 miles South west of Lewes, the old capitol of Sussex. Brighthelmstone was a relatively peaceful place for many centuries {apart from when it was was frequently raided, and burnt to the ground, by our jolly old French neighbours}.

Jump forward several hundred years, whereupon, the Prince Regent and his court had first visited Brighton in 1783, and it was where he decided to build a magnificent summer palace.

Londoners have been travelling to Brighton for beach getaways ever since the railway arrived here in 1841. The pebbled beach, the Brighton Lanes, Brighton Pier's amusement arcade the Royal Pavilion the magnificent Brighton Marina are the main sights, but you'll also find hundreds of pubs and clubs catering to an energetic crowd. Not to mention the fabulous Theatre Royal. Just last week we were absolutely delighted to see a fantastic performance of ‘The 39 Steps’ it was with out doubt one of the most enjoyable evenings we have ever spent at the theatre. The cast of just four actors played dozens of roles each {apart from the lead, aka Richard Hannay} and it was simply a tour de force, a masterpiece of theatre!.

Brighton has been colloquially known as London by the sea, and referred by millions as Britain’s favourite seaside town that is only 55 minutes from London by train and 40 minutes from London Gatwick airport.
It has probably the most cosmopolitan inhabitants of any city in Europe, and known by many as the centre of the ‘artistic’ life of the UK. Come and visit if you have never been, it may be an experience you will never forget. From the 2nd to the 5th of August this year somewhere between 300,000 to 400,000 extra visitors will arrive in Brighton for Brighton Pride Weekend.

We show in the gallery just a selection of the sights to be seen in Brighton, including the stunning Palace of King George IVth known as the Pavilion, also, one of Britain’s oldest pubs, the Cricketers, formerly owned by the late, and truly greatly lamented landlady, Winnie Sexton, in her day probably England's most famed lady publican. In fact it was our family local for over 100 years, where Mark and his father before him, has imbibed and conducted business with members of the artistic and entertainment fraternity, such as Lord ‘Larry’ Olivier, Graham Greene {occasionally} & John Osborne, and where, Mark’s father, David senior, enjoyed ‘several’ libations in the 50’s with Max Miller, & later with Dame Flora Robson, both late Brighton residents, plus hundreds of their contemporaries, such as dear actress hotelier Dora Bryan and her husband Bill Lawton, former resident owners of the Kemp Town seafront hotel, Clarges.
Over 50 years ago, Mark and our head coachman Bill ‘Yorkie’ Cole, carried Kenneth Williams, Sid James, Joan Sims and Charles Hawtrey, in fact whole main cast of the ‘Carry on Crew’, in our Victorian horse drawn landau carriage, for a scene the Carry On film ‘Carry on At Your Convenience’, along Madeira Drive to the Palace Pier. See photos 9 and 10 in the gallery to see some of our past customers, friends and regulars, plus the ‘Carry On’, crew arriving in our carriage, just near the Palace Pier.

This weekend those in the entertainment industry might visit, maybe as as a member and or guest, the restaurant, pool or balcony, of the all new Soho House Members Club. Last summer we visited there, with our granddaughter, a Soho member, for a delightful luncheon, and it is just a few hundred yards from the front door of our late former Royal Crescent neighbour, friend and customer, Lord Larry, and he would have loved it, especially as it is now, literally, right on his former doorstep.

Brighton has more varied restaurants and watering establishments than you can imagine
Also, Brighton is the perfect city for vegans.  read more

Code: 24292

A Magnificent 18th Century Silver Hilted Small Sword with Colichmarde Blade. This Is One Of The Most Beautiful We Have Seen in Several years

A combination of the finest 18th century artisan's skill of both a silversmith and bespoke swordsmith. Circa 1759 possibly by William Kinman of London. no silver hallmark was required due to The 'Act of 1738' the Plate Offences Act 1738, & the 1738 exemptions, which exempted the requirement of an assay mark for gold and silver mounts of swords, daggers, pistols and guns

General George Washington, later the first President of the United States, had a near identical sword that he used during his service as commander of the new American Army in the American War of Independance from 1776 onwards

Ideal in its day for duelling or close quarter combat, as well as being a simply fabulous, finest quality sword of immense beauty. Fine cast and chased silver hilt in the elegant rococo style with double shell guard single knucklebow and pas dans. The grip has silver banding interspersed with herringbone pattern twisted silver wire. The guard has enchanting workmanship with a scrolling, pierced, rococo Arabesque pattern. Colishmarde blade with blackened steel finish. The highly distinctive colishmarde blades appeared in 1680 and were popular during the next 40 years at the royal European courts. The colichemarde bladed swords had a special popularity with the officers of the French and Indian War period. Even George Washington had a very fine one just as this example.

The colichemarde descended from the so-called "transition rapier", which appeared because of a need for a lighter sword, better suited to parrying. It was not so heavy at its point; it was shorter and allowed a limited range of double time moves.The colichemarde in turn appeared as a thrusting blade too and also with a good parrying level, hence the strange, yet successful shape of the blade.

This sword appeared at about the same time as the foil. However the foil was created for practising fencing at court, while the colichemarde was created for dueling. With the appearance of pocket pistols as a self-defense weapon, the colichemardes found an even more extensive use in dueling.
This was achieved thanks to a wide forte (often with several fullers), which then stepped down in width after the fullers ended.The result of this strange shape was a higher maneuverability of the sword: with the weight of the blade concentrated in one's hand it became possible to maneuver the blade at a greater speed and with a higher degree of control, allowing the fencer to place a precise thrust at his/her adversary. This sword is a true work of art, in it's beauty form, quality and balance. One photo in the gallery is of General Burgoyne surrendering his similar gilt sword after the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777. Another portrait of George Washington with his very similar solid silver sword sword.

The blade is age blackened steel with original untouched centuries old old patina  read more

Code: 23170

A Scarce German WW2, Luftwaffe officer's or Possibly SS Officer's Sword or Dagger Belt Hanger Mount

The only confusion in regards to this original Third Reich WW2 private purchase officer's sword or dagger hanger, is that it is either extra dark blue that appears black, or its black that in some light appears, possibly, extra dark midnight blue.

The “Schutzstaffel” (Hitler’s elite black guard) carried a variety of unofficial swords until 1936 with the introduction of the “SS-Ehrendegen”. This sword was presented to high-ranking SS men or new officers upon completion of their training in SS officer schools. The medium width, polished blade contained a long fuller along the upper half. A black painted grip was banded with silver wire strands and fronted with a round silver emblem containing the SS “Sigrune”. The silver cross guard blended into the thin “D” guard which ended under the pommel cap. The ferule had beautifully chiseled oak leaves in silver with darkened recesses. Swords were typically marked with Sigrune acceptance marks on the “D” guard base and scabbard throats. Scabbards were black painted steel with silvered toe and throat sections, the later containing a single hanging ring. SS NCO swords took the similar design of the officer swords, but without the wire wrap or handle emblem. The pommel cap of NCO swords displayed an engraved Sigrune emblem. Due to shortages during the war, and the fact that not all SS officers were not awarded swords, some SS men carried army pattern or police swords instead of SS models.

When Hitler’s military was defeated, all “weapons” in the hands of German citizens, including ceremonial blades were to be turned into the occupying forces. After the victors carefully picked out the more valued pieces, countless others left were destroyed by being run over with heavy vehicles, burned in piles of debris, buried in bomb craters or thrown into deep bodies of water. Despite the wholesale destruction, thousands of Third Reich swords did survive in the hands of Allied veterans to be proudly brought home as symbols of their victory. These would eventually find their way into modern collections to be prized and studied by the keepers of history.

Despite looking as a relatively small accessory to the wearing of the sword and dagger in uniform in the 3rd Reich period, hangers and belt mounts are highly collectible, because so few mounts survive, simply due to the sword or dagger, being a fine and desirable souvenir piece of German surrendered war booty in 1945, yet its mounts and belt fittings were almost always more usually ignored, thus left behind, and, or, destroyed. Some sword and dagger mounts are now remarkably valuable, for example, a first year manufactured, 1936 SS maker stamped and dated complete sword hanger belt mount not including the belt itself could comfortably sell for over one thousand, and possibly up to two thousand pounds.

This would make a very nice addition to any German WW2 sword or dagger display.  read more

Code: 24480

Koto Period Samurai Katana, Circa 1550 From The Muramachi Era, A Most Fine Blade with Midare and Large Waves Hamon, & Nioi & Nie Deki, a Masame & Itame Hada, in Very Good Polish, Shibuishi Dragon Fly Fuchi Kashira

Fine Edo saya in superb condition decorated under clear urushi lacquer with pine needles and entwined silver wire. Very good Edo tsuba of iron {tettsu} with mokume wood grain body and a bamboo mimi {rim} with bamboo leaves. Wonderful quality shibuishi fuchi -kashira of takebori dragonflies with a gold seal.

Nie (沸) literally means "seethe" or "boil." In Japanese sword connoisseurship, it is the name of larger martensite crystals that appear on the polished surface of some traditionally made Japanese swords, which sometimes look like bubbles of boiling water rising to the surface. Nie mostly forms along the temperline, but on some swords is also seen on the blade's surfaces. Nie & nioi
When the crystals are so small that the naked eye cannot make them out individually, and they appear like a whitish mist, it is called nioi (匂), literally "fragrance". Nioi is present to some extent on all blades, but when no or very little nie is present, we speak of nioi-deki (匂出来). When the work shows nie throughout, we call it nie deki (沸出来) where deki means workmanship or interpretation.

Japan was once known as the “Land of the Dragonfly”, as the Emperor Jimmu is said to have once climbed a mountain in Nara, and looking out over the land, claimed that his country was shaped like two Akitsu, the ancient name for the winged insects, mating.

Dragonflies appeared in great numbers in 1274 and again in 1281, when Kublai Khan sent his Mongol forces to conquer Japan. Both times the samurai repelled the attackers, with the aid of huge typhoons, later titled Kamikaze (the Divine Winds), that welled up, destroying the Mongol ships, saving Japan from invasion. For that reason, dragonflies were seen as bringers of divine victory.

Dragonflies never retreat, they will stop, but will always advance, which was seen as an ideal of the samurai. Further, although the modern Japanese word for dragonfly is Tombo, the old (Pre Meiji era) word for dragonfly was Katchimushi. “Katchi” means “To win”, hence dragonflies were seen as auspicious by the samurai.

Insects in general have been celebrated in Japanese culture for centuries. The Lady Who Loved Insects is a classic story of a caterpillar-collecting lady of the 12th century court; the Tamamushi, or Jewel Beetle Shrine, is a seventh century miniature temple, once shingled with 9,000 iridescent beetle forewings. In old Japanese literature, poems upon insects are to be found by thousands, Daisaburo Okumoto is director of the Fabre Insect Museum. An avid insect collector and a scholar of French literature, he has translated many of Fabre's works. He ascribes the popularity of insects in Japan to national character. It seems like Japanese eyes are like macro lenses and Western eyes are wide-angle, he says. A garden in Versailles, it's very wide and symmetrical. But Japanese gardens are continuous from the room and also very small. We feel calm when we look at small things. The medieval Japanese monk Yoshida Kenko put it this way: “If man were never to fade away like the dews of Adashino, never to vanish like the smoke over Toribeyama, how things would lose their power to move us!

Japanese lacquer, or urushi, is a transformative and highly prized material that has been refined for over 7000 years.
Cherished for its infinite versatility, urushi is a distinctive art form that has spread across all facets of Japanese culture from the tea ceremony to the saya scabbards of samurai swords
Japanese artists created their own style and perfected the art of decorated lacquerware during the 8th century. Japanese lacquer skills reached its peak as early as the twelfth century, at the end of the Heian period (794-1185). This skill was passed on from father to son and from master to apprentice.

Some provinces of Japan were famous for their contribution to this art: the province of Edo (later Tokyo), for example, produced the most beautiful lacquered pieces from the 17th to the 18th centuries. Lords and shoguns privately employed lacquerers to produce ceremonial and decorative objects for their homes and palaces.
The varnish used in Japanese lacquer is made from the sap of the urushi tree, also known as the lacquer tree or the Japanese varnish tree (Rhus vernacifera), which mainly grows in Japan and China, as well as Southeast Asia. Japanese lacquer, 漆 urushi, is made from the sap of the lacquer tree. The tree must be tapped carefully, as in its raw form the liquid is poisonous to the touch, and even breathing in the fumes can be dangerous. But people in Japan have been working with this material for many millennia, so there has been time to refine the technique!
Flowing from incisions made in the bark, the sap, or raw lacquer is a viscous greyish-white juice. The harvesting of the resin can only be done in very small quantities.
Three to five years after being harvested, the resin is treated to make an extremely resistant, honey-textured lacquer. After filtering, homogenization and dehydration, the sap becomes transparent and can be tinted in black, red, yellow, green or brown.
Once applied on an object, lacquer is dried under very precise conditions: a temperature between 25 and 30°C and a humidity level between 75 and 80%. Its harvesting and highly technical processing make urushi an expensive raw material applied in exceptionally fine successive layers, on objects such as bowls or boxes.After heating and filtering, urushi can be applied directly to a solid, usually wooden, base. Pure urushi dries into a transparent film, while the more familiar black and red colours are created by adding minerals to the material. Each layer is left to dry and polished before the next layer is added. This process can be very time-consuming and labour-intensive, which contributes to the desirability, and high costs, of traditionally made lacquer goods. The skills and techniques of Japanese lacquer have been passed down through the generations for many centuries. For four hundred years, the master artisans of Zohiko’s Kyoto workshop have provided refined lacquer articles for the imperial household  read more

Code: 25334

A Pair of 'Troubles' Era, Dated 1973, Bomb Disposal Officer's Goggles

In original case, Anti Mine goggles. Acquired from a former British Army Bomb Disposal officer who served in the 1970's in Northern Ireland 321 EOD & Search Squadron 11 EOD Regiment RLC is a unit of the British Army responsible for Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search duties in Northern Ireland.

The unit was previously titled 321 EOD Unit, then 321 EOD Company RAOC Royal Army Ordnance Corps and was re-badged as a unit of the Royal Logistic Corps in April 1993, now part of 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment RLC. With its Headquarters at Aldergrove Flying Station near Antrim, the unit covers the entire province of Northern Ireland. The unit is honoured at the Palace Barracks memorial garden and today remains the most decorated unit in the British Army. 321 is a well equipped unit and has been at the forefront of developing new equipment  read more

Code: 19421

An Extremely Rare Example of a Vijayanagara Hooded Katar From South India,16th To Early 17th century.

Graduating triangular blade, engraved at the grip with two facing yali or leogryph (a part lion and part griffin), with some bird-like features. This mythological creature could be added to fine hooded katars by engraving to the hooded Katars as a means of spiritual protection in the battlefield. The Yali is a mythical creature seen in many South Indian temples, often sculpted onto the pillars. It may be portrayed as part lion, part elephant and part horse. The Vijayanagara Empire originated in the South of India through small Hindu Kingdoms as a resistance to the Muslim invasions from the North. These types of Hooded Katars are seen in the statues at Seshagiri Rayar Mandapam and were the staple of the Empire. As the Vijayanagara Empire slowly declined in the 17th century, this style of Katar declined and Katars without the hood became prominent.
This most rare Vijaynagara Katar exhibits the classical and traditional design, staying true to its roots. The blade is long, strongly tapering, with multiple grooves and fullers. The blade is also very sturdy and tight. Also if you notice the examples provided by Elgood, some of the katars do feature this type of blade. The grooves are deep and precisely cut and hold a consistent spacing and design, which adds to its aesthetic appeal. The blade is longer than the usual hooded Katars, which points towards this being an original blade, rather than a cut down european blade that is found on most other hooded katars on the market. The shield (hood) is a thick solid steel with a clean finish, engraved with floral designs and a yali. The Yali is a mythical creature seen in many South Indian temples, often sculpted onto the pillars. It may be portrayed as part lion, part elephant and part horse, and in similar shapes. Also, it has been sometimes described as a leogryph (part lion and part griffin), with some bird-like features. This mythological creature was added to the hooded Katars as a means of spiritual protection in the battlefield.

The handle bars are wide and larger than the typical Katar to match the aesthetic and size of the Vijaynagara Katar. The width of the handle bars provide an excellent protective layer for the user, but also creates an imposing presence when held due to the sheer size of the Katar. The grips features balls which give the user a good grip.  read more

Code: 25353

A Superb Old English-Viking Large 'Winged' Spear Javelin Head With Later Haft. A Vital Component in 'Shield Wall' Battles Over 1000 Years Old

Overall darkened natural patina with age and areas of a pitted surface, but overall in incredibly well preserved condition. Diamond section blade round socket with a pair of flat topped wings square section semi hooked below. It has three double rivet holes at the base of the socket for haft fixing.
The later haft was created for a museum type display to show how it was originally used. Although recovered a long time past, it was incredibly fortunate it was buried an area, likely in England, that was in a highly inorganic material that caused minimal degradation and corrosion over the past millennia, such as fine textured clay soils.

Although some of the leaf spears were light and controllable with one hand, the more massive spearheads were undoubtedly two-handed and suitable for heavy cut-and-thrust, usable as swords in all respects. Their functional aspect is often multiplied by wings, which, among other things, act as a cross-guard. When used on ground, these massive variants had to be exceptionally useful against both cavalry and infantry, while in cavalry use they could be used as cutting, anti-infantry weapons. It is difficult to imagine that such massive spearheads would be placed on very long shafts. In iconography, the spears are usually as high or slightly taller than the wearer. In archeology, the spearheads are often located next to the head, but it is not clear whether the shaft was broken before being placed in the grave or not (eg Belošević 2007: 275; Kouřil 2005: Abb. 4, 6, 15, 16).

Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from soon after the end of Roman Britain until the Norman Conquest in 1066, consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom of England by King Æthelstan (r. 927–939). It became part of the short-lived North Sea Empire of Cnut, a personal union between England, Denmark and Norway in the 11th century.

The typical battle involved both sides, Anglo Saxons, and Vikings or Normans forming shieldwalls to protect against the launching of missiles, and standing slightly out of range of each other.

Stephen Pollington has proposed the following sequence to a typical shieldwall fight . {Stephen Pollington is an English author who specialises in Anglo-Saxon England and the Old English language}

Preliminaries – The lines are drawn up and leaders make pre-battle inspirational speeches
Advance to close quarters – A battle cry would be raised and one or both shieldwalls would advance
Exchange missiles – Both sides shoot arrows and throw javelins, axes and rocks to break the enemy's resolve
Shield to shield – One or other side closes the short gap and attacks, using spears and swords, protecting themselves and pushing with shields to try to break the enemy line. If neither line broke, both sides would draw back to rest. More missiles would be exchanged, and then the two lines would close again. This would continue until one line broke through the other, perhaps aided by the death of a leader or capture of a banner.
Rout and pursuit – One side would begin to give way. A final stand might be made by some, as at Maldon, but most would flee. The victors would pursue, killing all they could catch.
Individual combat style
Individual warriors would run forward from the ranks to gain velocity for their javelin throws. This made them vulnerable due to their being exposed, having left the protection of the shield wall, and there was a chance of being killed by a counter throw from the other side.citation needed This is epitomized in the following excerpt:

"So then did Aethelgar's child enbolden them all, Godric to battle. Often he sent forth spears, deadly shaft sped away onto the Vikings thus he on this people went out in front of battle, cutting down and smiting, until he too on the battlefield perished." (The Battle of Maldon. 320-4.)

If a warrior was killed in the 'no man's land' between shieldwalls, someone from the other side might rush out to retrieve the valuable armour and weapons, such as extra javelins, sword, shield and so on from the corpse. The one best positioned to retrieve the body was often the thrower of the fatal javelin as he had run forward of his shield wall too in order to make his throw. Exposing himself like this, and even more so during his attempt to retrieve the slain's gear, was a great mark of bravery and could result in much valuable personal gain, not only in terms of his professional career as a retainer, but also in material wealth if the equipment were valuable.
Due to the very visible and exposed nature of these javelin-throwing duels, we have some detailed descriptions which have survived, such as the following passage. The first part describes thrown javelin duels, and the latter part describes fighting over the corpses' belongings.

"Advanced again to fierce battle, weapons raised up, shields to defence, and towards these warriors they stepped. Resolute they approached Earl to the lowest Yeoman: each of them intent on harm for the enemy. Sent then a sea-warrior a spear of southern make that wounded the warrior lord. He thrust then with his shield such that the spear shaft burst, and that spear-head shattered as it sprang in reply. Enraged became that warrior: with anger he stabbed that proud Viking who had given him that wound. Experienced was that warrior; he threw his spear forward through the warrior's neck, his hand guiding so that he this ravager's life would fatally pierce. Then he with another stab speedily pierced the ravager so that the chainmail coat broke: this man had a breast wound cut through the linked rings; through his heart stuck a deadly spear. The Earl was the better pleased: laughed then this great man of spirit, thanking the Creator for the day's work which the Lord had given him. And so then another warrior a spear from the other side flew out of hand, which deeply struck through the noble Aethelred's retainer. To him by his side stood a young man not fully grown, a youth on the battlefield, who valiantly pulled out of this warrior the bloody spear, Wulfstan's child, Wulfmaer the younger; and so with blinding speed came the shaft in reply. The spear penetrated, for that who on the Earth now lay among his people, the one who had sorely pierced. Went then armed a man to this Earl; he desirous of this warrior's belongings to take off with, booty and rings and an ornamental sword. Then Byrhtnoth drew his sword from its sheath broad and bright of blade, and then struck the man's coat of mail. But too soon he was prevented by a certain sea-scavenger, and then the Earl's arm was wounded. Fall then to the ground with his gold-hilted sword: his grip unable to hold the heavy sword, or wield the weapon." (The Battle of Maldon. 130-58.)

Reconstructions of fighting techniques suggested by Richard Underwood in his book Anglo Saxon Weapons and Warfare suggest two primary methods of using a spear. You can use it over arm – held up high with the arm extended and the spear pointing downwards. Used this way you could try and attack over the enemy shield against head and neck. Or you could use it underarm with the spear braced along the forearm. This was more defensive and was good for parrying the enemy spear and pushing against his shield to keep him away but was not much use offensively.


Picture in the gallery from the Codex Aureus of Echternach, 1030-1050AD
Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, Germany.

Another picture of an archaeological detailed drawing of a warrior's grave site, showing large winged spear and sword. From Abramowicz – Nadolski – Poklewski-Koziełł 1959:

17 inches long. Weight 0.5 lb  read more

Code: 25386

Latest Japanese Swords, Tsuba & Fittings To Be Added Soon. Plus Over A Dozen WW2 Shingunto Officer’s Swords, Some With Ancient Ancestral Family Blades

Dozens of fine swords and tsuba waiting to be added to our web store, Some fine rare and ancient pieces, several of museum quality. Though we do show just a few added in the past couple of days.

We sincerely apologise for the slowness in adding our new acquisitions, but we are buying several dozen pieces a day but often only have time to add several a day to our web store. Plus, at the same time, assisting our hundreds, sometimes thousands, of visitors every day {except Sunday} with their queries, questions and purchases.

**** Due notice! Brighton will be swamped with an extra few hundred thousand visitors on Pride Weekend this coming 3rd and 4th of August. Just as last year, we closed for the day, as all the main town centre access roads will be closed from Friday night until Sunday evening. It was a fabulous weekend for all the local service shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, pubs, hotels etc. but the retail stores will mostly close. If you are visiting Brighton then, enjoy, it is a wonderful experience, and great joy and fun will be had by all. Our top floor web-store office and apartments will be open as usual 24/7, for the whole weekend, but not the ground floor-gallery shop. But, you can contact us here by phone, or email the partners wherever they may be anytime. But please be patient for a reply.
Our family representatives are travelling to Tokyo by personal invitation on Monday, then hopefully Beijing China in two weeks time, {the Microsoft update of doom permitting}. They have also been invited to see the Brighton & Hove Albion, aka the ‘Seagulls’ in Tokyo, and watch them play the ‘Kashima Antlers’ in the Japanese National Stadium on Wednesday. Good Luck Seagulls!.
These visits may bear interesting fruit, we will hopefully let our Far East Artefact collectors know in mid August.  read more

Code: 25371

A Very Beautiful & Incredibly Elegant Koto Katana Art Sword Circa 1500, With Very Fine All Original Edo Koshirae, of Finely Decorated Shakudo, Combined With Exceptional Urushi Lacquer Work.

Very fine original Edo period fittings, mokko gata tsuba and saya. Shakudo fuchi-kashira, decorated with a wonderfully defined little long armed monkey reaching for the moon's reflection in a stream. The long armed monkey is on the kashira, the stream and moon are on the fuchi. ‘The Monkey Reaching for the Moon’, fuchi-kashira, depicts a delightful little monkey hanging from a tree branch over the surface of water, reaching down to touch the reflection of the moon. This imagery is undoubtedly derived from a popular Buddhist story that warns how the spiritually unenlightened cannot distinguish between reality and illusion.

Shakudo and gold menuki of artistically bound reeds, with a fine mokko-shaped Higo school iron tsuba with a raised mimi {edge}, and a black beautiful ishime urushi lacquered saya with matching copper ishime koiguchi, kurikata and kojiri, {scabbard mountings}.

It has a very fine 25.25 inch blade, measured tsuba to tip. Typical Koto style and period, extremely elegant blade with fine graduation, beautiful curvature and iconic Koto form small kissaki. it has a superb complex hamon and grain {with just a few light surface fingerprint stains that we can have removed}.

Some provinces of Japan were famous for their contribution to the ishime style of urushi lacquer art: the province of Edo (later Tokyo), for example, produced the most beautiful lacquered pieces from the 17th to the 18th centuries. Lords and shoguns privately employed lacquerers to produce ceremonial and decorative objects for their homes and palaces.
The varnish used in Japanese lacquer is made from the sap of the urushi tree, also known as the lacquer tree or the Japanese varnish tree (Rhus vernacifera), which mainly grows in Japan and China, as well as Southeast Asia. Japanese lacquer, 漆 urushi, is made from the sap of the lacquer tree. The tree must be tapped carefully, as in its raw form the liquid is poisonous to the touch, and even breathing in the fumes can be dangerous. But people in Japan have been working with this material for many millennia, so there has been time to refine the technique!
Flowing from incisions made in the bark, the sap, or raw lacquer is a viscous greyish-white juice. The harvesting of the resin can only be done in very small quantities.
Three to five years after being harvested, the resin is treated to make an extremely resistant, honey-textured lacquer. After filtering, homogenization and dehydration, the sap becomes transparent and can be tinted in black, red, yellow, green or brown.
Once applied on an object, lacquer is dried under very precise conditions: a temperature between 25 and 30°C and a humidity level between 75 and 80%. Its harvesting and highly technical processing make urushi an expensive raw material applied in exceptionally fine successive layers, on objects such as bowls or boxes, or as you see, samurai sword saya {scabbards}. After heating and filtering, urushi can be applied directly to a solid, usually wooden, base. Pure urushi dries into a transparent film, while the more familiar black and red colours are created by adding minerals to the material. Each layer is left to dry and polished before the next layer is added. This process can be very time-consuming and labour-intensive, which contributes to the desirability, and high costs, of traditionally made lacquer goods. The skills and techniques of Japanese lacquer have been passed down through the generations for many centuries. For four hundred years, the master artisans of Zohiko’s Kyoto workshop have provided refined lacquer articles for the imperial household. It is extraordinary that a finest urushi lacquer saya would have taken up to, and over, a year to hand produce, by some of the most finely skilled artisans in the world.

Shakudo {that can be used to make samurai sword mounts and fittings} is a billon of gold and copper (typically 4-10% gold, 96-90% copper) which can be treated to form an indigo/black patina resembling lacquer. Unpatinated shakudo Visually resembles bronze; the dark colour is induced by applying and heating rokusho, a special patination formula.

Shakudo was historically used in Japan to construct or decorate the finest katana fittings such as fuchi-kashira, tsuba, menuki, and kozuka; as well as other small ornaments. When it was introduced to the West in the mid-19th century, it was thought to be previously unknown outside Asia, but recent studies have suggested close similarities to certain decorative alloys used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

The above descriptions show just why the finest Japanese fully mounted swords can be referred to as ‘Art Swords’, not because they were made just to be items of incredible beauty, to admire and revere, but also as useable everyday swords to be worn by highest status samurai and clan lords, that are also statements of the status of the wearer, as well as of the finest beauty and artistic merit..  read more

Code: 25351