A Very Good, Original, Napoleonic Wars Period, Imperial Russian Romanov Cavalry Sabre Engraved With The Russian Double Eagle Crest. French Invasion and Retreat From Moscow Period of 1812

Probably 18th to early 19th century from the era of Catherine the Great to Czar Alexander Ist. Russian campaign sabre from the 1812 Russian campaign, Borodino, Smolensk and Moscow. In the cossack sasqua style, worn with the blade cutting side up. With walrus tooth hilt and engraved quillon bearing the Russian Romanov double crowned twin headed eagle crest with two cyrillic letters English equivalent M E within a shield. Leather scabbard with chequered decoration and wire decorative seaming at the throat.
A little known fact about the Napoleon's campaign into Russia is that Napoleon’s army actually lost more men on the way to Moscow than on the way back. The heat, disease, battle and desertion meant that by the time the Russian capital was seen on the horizon he had lost half his men. Nevertheless, what was important to the Corsican General was that he had reached the city. Battles at Smolensk and Borodino along the way had been costly and hard-fought, but nothing Tsar Alexander had done had been able to halt the Imperial juggernaut in its tracks though he had managed to extricate most of the Russian army intact from the fighting. In September the exhausted and bloodied Grand Arm?e reached Moscow with its promise of food and shelter, but it was not to be. So determined were the Russians to resist the invader that they burned their own old and beautiful capital in order to deny its uses to the French. Camped in a burned and empty shell, Napoleon dithered about whether to remain over the bitter winter or claim victory and march home. He was mindful of earlier campaigns into Russia such as that of Charles XII of Sweden a century earlier and made the fateful decision to return to friendly territory rather than face the snows without adequate shelter.

When it became clear that the Russians would not accept a favourable peace, Napoleon marched his troops out of the city in October. It was already too late. As the once-great army trudged across the empty vastness of Russia, the cold set in, as early as the French generals could possibly have feared. And that was the least of their worries. The horses died first, for there was no food for them. Then after the men ate them they started dying too, for all the supplies in Moscow had been burned a month earlier. All the time, hordes of cossacks harassed the increasingly bedraggled rearguard, picking off stragglers and making the survivor’s lives a constant misery. Meanwhile, Alexander ? advised by his experienced generals refused to meet Napoleon’s military genius head-on, and wisely let his army dribble away in the Russian snows. Astonishingly, by the time the remnants of the Grand Armee reached the Berezina river in late November it numbered just 27,000 effective men. 100,000 had given up and surrendered to the enemy, while 380,000 lay dead on the Russian steppes. 89.5 cm long overall  read more

Code: 20830

A Superb Pleistocene Period Large Cave Bear Tooth. Roots and Jawbone Part, Around 200,000 years Old. A Prehistoric Species of Large Bear Wiped Out in the Last Ice Age

From the Austrian Dragon Cave, Drachenhohle - Mixnitz, in Austria, a prehistoric, extinct Cave Bear molar with roots and jawbone. The cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) was a species of bear that lived in Europe during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum.

Both the name “cave” and the scientific name spelaeus are because fossils of this species were mostly found in caves, showing that cave bears may have spent more time in caves than the brown bear, which uses caves only for hibernation. Consequently, in the course of time, whole layers of bones, almost entire skeletons, were found in many caves.

Cave bear skeletons were first described in 1774 by Johann Friederich Esper in his book Newly Discovered Zoolites of Unknown Four Footed Animals. While scientists at the time considered that the skeletons could belong to apes, canids, felids, or even dragons or unicorns, Esper postulated that they actually belonged to polar bears. Twenty years later, Johann Christian Rosenmüller, an anatomist at the Leipzig University, gave the species its binomial name

Both the cave bear and the brown bear are thought to be descended from the Plio-Pleistocene Etruscan bear (Ursus etruscus) that lived about 5.3 million years past to 10,000 years ago. The last common ancestor of cave bears and brown bears lived between 1.2 and 1.4 Mya. The immediate precursor of the cave bear was probably Ursus deningeri (Deninger’s bear), a species restricted to Pleistocene Europe about 1.8 Mya to 100,000 years ago. The transition between Deninger’s bear and the cave bear is given as the last Interglacial, although the boundary between these forms is arbitrary, and intermediate or transitional taxa have been proposed, e.g. Ursus spelaeus deningeroides, while other authorities consider both taxa to be chronological variants of the same species.

The cave bear had a very broad, domed skull with a steep forehead. Its stout body had long thighs, massive shins and in-turning feet, making it similar in skeletal structure to the brown bear. The average weight for males was 400 to 500 kilograms (880 to 1,100 lb), while females weighed 225 to 250 kg (495 to 550 lb). Of cave bear skeletons in museums, 90% are male due to a misconception that the female skeletons were merely “dwarfs”. Cave bears grew larger during glaciations and smaller during interglacials, probably to adjust heat loss rate.

Cave bears of the last Ice Age lacked the usual two or three premolars present in other bears; to compensate, the last molar is very elongated, with supplementary cusps. The humerus of the cave bear was similar in size to that of the polar bear, as were the femora of females. The femora of male cave bears, however, bore more similarities in size to those of kodiak bears.

The cave bear was sometimes hunted by Neanderthals during the Stone Age. There are many mass cave bear burial sites indicating these early humans actually worshipped the cave bear with its image often represented on cave walls.  read more

Code: 24561

A Very Good, Rare, 18th Century American Revolutionary & Colonial Period Musket

Long 47 inch two stage barrel, fine walnut stock with early down turned butt style. Stepped lock. Very crisp action. In the Metropolitan Museum in New York there are several extremely similar muskets used in the Revolutionary War just like it. See pages 116/117 Weapons of the American Revolution by Warren Moore, published in New York 1967 [see photo 10 in the gallery] . It is very similar to the early American Committee of Safety style Long Land Pattern musket. As the American Revolutionary War unfolded in North America, there were two principal campaign theaters within the thirteen states, and a smaller but strategically important one west of the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River and north to the Great Lakes. The full-on military campaigning began in the states north of Maryland, and fighting was most frequent and severest there between 1775 and 1778. Patriots achieved several strategic victories in the South, the British lost their first army at Saratoga, and the French entered the war as an American ally.

In the expanded Northern theatre and wintering at Valley Forge, General Washington observed British operations coming out of New York at the 1778 Battle of Monmouth. He then closed off British initiatives by a series of raids that contained the British army in New York City. The same year, Spanish-supplied Virginia Colonel George Rogers Clark joined by Francophone settlers and their Indian allies conquered Western Quebec, the US Northwest Territory.

Starting in 1779, the British initiated a southern strategy to begin at Savannah, gather Loyalist support, and reoccupy Patriot-controlled territory north to Chesapeake Bay. Initially the British were successful, and the Americans lost an entire army at the Siege of Charleston, which caused a severe setback for Patriots in the region. But then British maneuvering north led to a combined American and French force cornering a second British army at Battle of Yorktown, and their surrender effectively ended the Revolutionary War. The American armies were small by European standards of the era, largely attributable to limitations such as lack of powder and other logistics. At the beginning of 1776, Washington commanded 20,000 men, with two-thirds enlisted in the Continental Army and the other third in the various state militias. About 250,000 men served as regulars or as militia for the Revolutionary cause over eight years during wartime, but there were never more than 90,000 men under arms at one time.

As a whole, American officers never equaled their opponents in tactics and maneuvers, and they lost most of the pitched battles. The great successes at Boston (1776), Saratoga (1777), and Yorktown (1781) were won from trapping the British far from base with a greater number of troops. Nevertheless, after 1778, Washington's army was transformed into a more disciplined and effective force, mostly by Baron von Steuben's training. Immediately after the Army emerged from Valley Forge, it proved its ability to match the British troops in action at the Battle of Monmouth, including a black Rhode Island regiment fending off a British bayonet attack then counter-charging for the first time in Washington's army. Here Washington came to realize that saving entire towns was not necessary, but preserving his army and keeping the revolutionary spirit alive was more important in the long run. Washington informed Henry Laurens "that the possession of our towns, while we have an army in the field, will avail them little."

Although Congress was responsible for the war effort and provided supplies to the troops, Washington took it upon himself to pressure the Congress and state legislatures to provide the essentials of war; there was never nearly enough. Congress evolved in its committee oversight and established the Board of War, which included members of the military. Because the Board of War was also a committee ensnared with its own internal procedures, Congress also created the post of Secretary of War, and appointed Major General Benjamin Lincoln in February 1781 to the position. Washington worked closely with Lincoln to coordinate civilian and military authorities and took charge of training and supplying the army. Most similar to the fusil de chasse/fusil du traite du plaine of 1740. Old forend repair. 63.25 inches long overall  read more

Code: 23439

A 16th C. Moghul - Hindu 'Shaturnal' Swivel Cannon Barrel For Use on Moghul War-Elephant Or War-Camel. Up To 500 Years Old. An Amazing Early War-Piece of Early Mobile Artillery Used In The Moghul Empire Of Akbar The Great

This incredible and historical war piece would have been mounted upon the Howdah, the huge wooden travelling carriage type apparatus for which the war crew would be seated, one to drive, steer and command the elephant, the others to operate cannon and arquebusses. Or, mounted upon the front of a war camel’s saddle.

A superb late Medieval matchlock swivel cannon barrel, called a shaturnal, specifically designed for combat service mounted upon the back of a great beast of war.

Only the second example of such an intriguing war-piece that we have seen in the past ten years. They are truly very scarce to find, and a great and most impressive piece of historical weaponry from late medieval India.

Interestingly the best way to see just how they were used would be in Sir Peter Jackson’s magnificent trilogy and interpretation of Tolkien’s masterpiece, Lord of the Rings. In one of the awesome battle scenes there are huge giant ‘fantasy’ war elephants, and each one bears a massive howdah for the crew to rain arrows and spears down upon the unfortunate enemy below, just as the Moghul war elephants once did in reality in India, centuries ago, but with arquebuss and light-cannon fire, instead of simply arrows or spears.
In the gallery is an engraving of War elephants depicted in Hannibal crossing the Rhône
A war elephant was an elephant that was trained and guided by humans for combat. The war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks, and instill terror and fear. Elephantry is a term for specific military units using elephant-mounted troops.

War elephants played a critical role in several key battles in antiquity, especially in ancient India.While seeing limited and periodic use in Ancient China, they became a permanent fixture in armies of historical kingdoms in Southeast Asia. During classical antiquity they were also used in ancient Persia and in the Mediterranean world within armies of Macedon, Hellenistic Greek states, the Roman Republic and later Empire, and Ancient Carthage in North Africa. In some regions they maintained a firm presence on the battlefield throughout the Medieval era. War-elephants were significantly used in the Battle of the Hydaspes,
The Battle of Zama, the Second Battle of Panipat
And the Battle of Ambur. At the Battle of Panipat, in 1556, the Hindu ruler King Hemu had a force of 500 war elephants, but although defeated, and Hemu beheaded, Hemu’s war elephants so impressed his enemy, by their awesome power and the effectiveness of their arquebuss musketeers and crossbowmen mounted in their howdahs, they took 120 surviving elephants from the battle and adopted them into the Moghul army. It is even possible this may be one of those Hindu shaturnal, used by the war-elephant musketeers, that were captured in that battle.

With a bore of around 5/8th inch and a barrel around eight times thicker than the normal width of a musket, this superb piece of early forged ironwork, known as a shaturnal, would have been fitted upon a wooden support on the back of the beast and rotated with something resembling a row boat rowlock. Extraordinarily effective, easy to manipulate, and quite devastating in battle.

By the time of Akbar (October 15, 1542 - October 27, 1605) heavy mortars and cannons were rarely used in the Mughal military, the preference being for lighter more easily mobile artillery such as this shaturnal.

Light cannons that could be used on the battlefield were the mainstay of the Mughal artillery corps, including the shaturnal, similar to swivel guns, but carried on the backs of war-camels and in the howdahs of war-elephants.

Akbar, widely considered the greatest of the Mughal emperors was thirteen years old when he ascended the throne in Delhi, following the death of his father Humayun. During his reign, he eliminated military threats from the Pashtun descendants of Sher Shah Suri, and at the Second Battle of Panipat he defeated the Hindu king Hemu. It took him nearly two more decades to consolidate his power and bring parts of northern and central India into his realm. There are original paintings copied in the gallery showing Akbar's matchlocks and artillery being used in combat. Towards the end of 1568 Akbar concentrated his forces around the fort of Ranthambhor, held by a vassal of the Maharana of Chittor, Rao Surjan Hada of Bundi. This fort had been attacked earlier in 1560, but that Mughal army had been defeated by the Rajputs.

The fort of Gagraun, to the south of Bundi, had however been captured that year. Now after the capture of Chittor Akbar could turn once again to Ranthambhor.

Weight around 5.25 kilos. 28.75 inches long. With an old Maharajah of Jaipur’s arsenal armoury’s storage mark. Around 50 years ago a colleague of ours acquired the entire contents of the Maharajah of Jaipur’s palace armoury of original antique Moghul and pre Raj period arms. We were fortunate to acquire from his great purchase a few hundred of the great arquebusses, some, up to 10 feet long, for our armoury collection, some of which we still have stored in our gun rooms here at The Lanes Armoury

As with all our antique guns no license is required as they are all unrestricted antique collectables. Photographed on a temporary stand, but this is not included.

Picture 5 shows a 19th century photograph of a much smaller shaturnal, from a museum, mounted upon a camel for an historical demonstration of early war camel warfare in India..  read more

Code: 20243

A Superb Solid Sterling Silver Cigarette & Cigar Box, Early H.M. Queen Elizabeth IInd Period With The Crest of the Royal Borough of Windsor, & The Castle

Presented to officers of the Household Cavalry, the mounted bodyguard of her Late Beloved Majesty, Queen Elizabeth IInd, in 1965 at Windsor Castle. Silver Birmingham hallmarked by William Neale & Son Ltd (their mark from 1909). William Neale & Son Ltd
Birmingham, 1933 hallmark. Firm established by William Neale in 1850 in Birmingham. Later the firm became William Neale & Sons as a partnership of William Neale Sr., William Neale Jr. and Arthur Neale, building new premises at 29 Warstone Lane, Birmingham (1896). In 1905, the firm was converted into a limited liability company under the style of William Neale & Sons Ltd moving in 1910 at 34 Cox Street, St. Paul's Square, Birmingham. In 1941,

The Arms of the Borough as shown upon the silver box are officially recorded in the College of Arms as having been entered in 1566 at the Visitation of Berkshire made in that year by William Hervey Clarenceux, King of Arms, in the following form:

Per fesse Argent and Vert a Stag's Head caboshed of the first in chief between the attires Sable an Escutcheon of France Modern and England quarterly in base a Castle Wall with three Towers also Argent in the central tower a open Port with Portcullis raised Or.

Origin
Arms entered (without tinctures) at the Visitation of 1532; Confirmed with tinctures at the Visitation of 1566;

The castle is, of course, a reference to Windsor's famous royal fortress, and the stag's head recalls that the Windsor Great Park around the town formed a hunting ground for the Norman kings. The shield depicts the old 1405-1603 Royal Arms and is appropriate as New Windsor is a Royal Borough.

The Freedom Of Windsor: The freedom of the Royal Borough of Windsor was given to the Household Cavalry at a special ceremony held in the home Park, Windsor Castle, today. Immediately following this ceremony the Household Cavalry exercised their right by marching through the town of Windsor with bands plkating. Armoured cars from the Lifeguards took part in the parade. May 05, 1965.

Gross weight 22.8 ozs approx 6.75 inches x 4.65 inches x 2 inches. Hallmarked silver lined with cedarwood interior.  read more

Code: 25511

A Simply Stunning Antique Rococo Italian 19th Cen. Carved Venetian Grotto Stool, Probably by Pauly et Cie. A Wonderful Original Antique Work of Art From Italian Renaissance Revival Period

In carved walnut, baroque style, with a seat shaped as a rotating elevating scallop shell, docorated in ebonised lacquer, with a scrolled front, set on a relief carved gilded dolphin, and tripartite black ebonised lacquer base. Elaborately carved style of the rococo revival.

One could just as easily imagine the great composer Mozart sitting upon such a fabulously extravagant stool, playing a spinet in one of the great palaces in Venice, and similarly, Sir Elton John seated upon it, performing one of his iconic compositions at a Oscars after party in Hollywood. Just as a piano stool should do, this stool’s shell seat rotates upon a steel spindle in order to adjust its seating height to perform at such as a Steinway or Bechstein grand piano. From 20.5 inches in height, to 23 inches high

As early as the 1500's grottoes were meant to complement Italian Renaissance gardens and provide cool places for Europeans to retreat from the sun. Of course there was a need to furnish these spaces, so fantasy furniture, called grotto furniture, became quite the trend and Grotto had it's own "style". Today home grottoes and shell encrusted furniture are undergoing something of a revival as we too long to bring our love of the ocean indoors with fun and whimsical seashell-inspired decor. Antique Venetian grotto furniture is now rare and immensely collectable. The scallop form became increasingly popular between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, as focus on classical, organic and symmetrical forms became more and more popular.
As the scallop form gradually became more used in architecture, its popularity started to be reflected in additional ways, predominantly having a vast influence on Italian Renaissance and Rococo furniture.
Furniture makers in Venice were very prolific in their seating designs, and were particularly known for chairs that had nautical themes. Shells, coral, dolphins and seahorses were often sculpted into chairs that took inspiration from the designs of Venetian grottoes. First created by the ancient Greeks, the grotto was formed out of caves situated near a water source and decorated with tufa, stones and shells. The grottoes acted as shrines, a restful space to pay respect to the spirits of water. In the Renaissance, grottoes became a popular addition to the landscapes of villas for those who could afford it. The Italian landscape designers revived and created a new tradition of grottoes, elaborately decorated into man-made monuments of natural beauty. The Renaissance grotto symbolized the quest for knowledge and an awareness of one's surroundings.

The Italian grotto style peaked during the nineteenth century, and furniture was created to reflect this passion for nautical themes. From the mid to late nineteenth century, furniture makers in Venice fashioned chairs based on the feel of the grotto, creating an eclectic mix of Renaissance and Rococo inspired sculpted imagery. The nineteenth century Venetian grotto chairs were most likely intended for hallways and were aimed to be sold to visitors on their European tour. This stool is in suprb condition with just some light erosion of the gilt and lacquer areas.

Apparently brought back to England by a British General after the Italian campaign in 1944/5, as a personal gift of an Italian nobleman.

The Brighton Pavilion Palace of the Prince Regent is profusely decorated with items of furniture influenced in what is now called the grotto style, with a heavy rococo influence throughout. With fabulously carved gigantic beasts such as dragons and ho ho birds, and this same shell design on stools in the music room. Items of original antique Venetian grotto seating, with the nautical shell infuence, are now commanding huge prices. Franco Zefferelli had a pair in collection that sold for $30,000  read more

Code: 22356

A Superb 'Valet de Pied a la Maison' Footman's Livery Frock Coat, in Dark Blue Velvet, Silk Damask, Silver Bullion and Fine Lace, With Handmade Cut-Steel Marquesite Buttonning

Such beautiful examples of the finest and elaborate clothing is considered very much a fabulous piece of object d'art, with museum collections displaying many such surviving pieces of now long gone finery with much attention to the their fine detail, their craftsmanship, tailoring and beauty. In stunning condition. Any well considered location for such a stunning piece could only be improved by such an admirable piece. A 19th century form footman’s livery frock coat, the dark blue velvet coat with five pairs of re-made 2” wide silver braided bands to front and similar double braided bands to flared pointed cuffs, reverse of coat pleated and cut to waist with banded tie and two large, pierced, cut handmade steel marquesite buttons. Black bow at rear of neck, collar and cuffs have finely worked white lace with matching cravat. The fine quality burgundy coloured damask waistcoat with floral and foliate worked decoration and six 1” wide braided silver bands en suite with coat. A false pocket flap on each side similarly trimmed with braid. Six dark metal waistcoat buttons of floral openwork design have star marquesite button centres. The whole in very good condition due to perfect storage. Male servants were paid more than female servants (because they were expected to support a wife and children) and footmen were something of a luxury and therefore a status symbol even among the servant-employing classes. They performed a less essential role than the cook, maid or even butler, and were part only of the grandest households. Since a footman was for show as much as for use, a tall footman was more highly prized than a short one, and good looks, including well-turned legs, which were shown off by the traditional footman's dress of stockings worn below knee breeches, were an advantage. Footmen were expected to be unmarried and tended to be relatively young; they might, however, progress to other posts, notably that of butler. One 19th-century footman, William Tayler, kept a diary which has been published. He was, in fact, married; but kept his marriage secret from his employers and visited his family only on his days off.

Once a commonly employed servant in great houses, footmen became much rarer after World War I as fewer households could by then afford retinues of servants and retainers. The position is now virtually a historic one although servants with this designation are still employed in the British Royal Household, wearing a distinctive scarlet livery on state occasions.The first footman was the designation given to the highest-ranking servant of this class in a given household. The first footman would serve as deputy butler and act as butler in the latter's absence, although some larger houses also had an under-butler above the first footman.

In a larger household, various footmen might be assigned specific duties (for which there might be a traditional sequence), such as the silver specialist. Usually the footmen performed a range of duties which included serving meals, opening and closing doors, carrying heavy items, or moving furniture for the housemaid to clean behind. The footmen might also double as valets, especially for visiting guests. As with all 19th century form clothing it is a small size.  read more

Code: 20940

A Superb Crimean War and US Civil War Period Crystal Masonic Gaming Tumbler

A good size crystal gaming tumbler, engraved with numerous Masonic symbols, including the square and compass, with three gaming dice sealed within the glass hollow base.
Circa 1850's.
After 4 years of war, the weary and almost defeated Confederate Army was retreating and leaving the Confederate capital of Richmond to its own fate. As the army retreated, fires broke out in all sections of the city. Hoodlums, deserters, and criminals, with no law and order, began to pillage the city.

Just as the city seemed to be doomed, a Union cavalry unit swung up Franklin Street. The bearded colonel looked warily at the riff raff around him who were about to fire a building which bore a sign "Masonic Hall." Taking command of the moment, he halted his troopers and ordered that an adjutant "have all Masons wheel out of column." Almost half of his force moved out. From this group he ordered a suitable guard to protect the Masonic Temple. The column reformed and resumed its ride. Later General Godfrey Weitzel, a Mason, gave the order, after a request by the Lodge, to continue the guard. The building saved is said to have been the oldest purely Masonic building in America with records dating back to 1787, and the historic building itself was built in 1785 by Richmond Lodge 10. The Grand Lodge assembled here after its formation in Williamsburg until its move in 1869.

In the battle for Galveston, Texas a young Union naval officer who was a Mason was killed on board one of the Union vessels.

An armistice was sought and given for his burial at sea and his father, a Confederate officer, attended the funeral on board.

It was an April morning three days after General Robert E. Lee had surrendered to General U.S. Grant. The Southern troops, led by General John B. Gordon, a Mason, were marching in columns towards the Northern troops who were standing in formation waiting for the Southerners to stack arms and fold their flags. Suddenly a shifting of arms is heard. Gordon looked up with alarm. There was nothing to fear. General Joshua Chamberlain had ordered his troops to assume the position of "honor answering honor." Immediately, the Confederate troops snapped to attention and returned the honor. It was the first act to heal the wounds of a nation that had spent four years and 618,000 lives in civil war. That command of "honor answering honor" was ordered by a Mason.

Major General Joshua Chamberlain was a member of United Lodge 8, Brunswick, Maine. After the war, he became Governor of Maine from 1866-1871 and President of Bowdoin College from 1871-83.  read more

Code: 25504

Absolutely Superb Esoteric Antique Witchcraft Fetish Statue. An African Kongo Witch Doctor's Nail-Fetish Power Figure, A Voduo {Voodoo} Nkondi Nkisi. Historically Much Feared by Victorian Missionaries as Instruments of Sorcery. Made by The Tribal Nganga

Another example from our incredible collection.

The African Kongo Witch Doctor's power figures minkisi {plural of nkisi} that stand prominent among all minkisi is called nkisi {sacred medicine} nkondi {hunter} likely from the Bakongo people. This type of figure is commonly called a nail fetish and is one of the most recognisable and collectible figures in all of African art. These life-like figures are instantly identified by the many nails, pegs, blades, and shards that are hammered into them and made by the tribal Nganga { Witch Doctor } .

Each individual insertion represents one of three things: an oath or agreement between two parties, a pledge to provide protection against enemies and witchcraft, or a vow of vengeance. 'Nkondi' literally means 'hunter;' and it is generally considered an aggressive entity.

The insertions are driven into the figure by the nganga and represent the mambu and the type or degree of severity of an issue can be suggested through the material itself. A peg may refer to a matter being ‘settled’ whereas a nail, or metal shard, deeply inserted, may represent a more serious offense such as murder. Prior to insertion, opposing parties or clients often lick the blades or nails, to seal the function or purpose of the nkisi through their saliva. If an oath is broken by one of the parties or evil befalls one of them, the nkisi nkondi will become activated to carry out its mission of destruction or divine protection

The imposing presence and implied power of nkisi nkondi is certainly enough to keep anyone committed to a promise or agreement. Like other minkisi, powerful medicine is usually stored inside the belly, which can then covered by a piece of glass or mirror. The reflective surface represents the world of the dead and the vision of the spirits. One is a traditional naked fetish witchcraft figure, standing upright, deeply carved staring eyes a the body studded overall with hundreds of nails of iron driven into the body, a traditional fetish upwards that may, some believe, have once held a spear.

A nkisi has many interrelated functions. African doctors use it to effect healing. They use the nkisi to search for the spiritual and physical source of a malady and then chase it away from the body. As a preventive measure, spiritual leaders also use it to protect the human soul, guarding it against disease and illness. In addition, they may use it to bind its owner to a friend or to attract lovers. It is also used to serve as a charm to repel enemies, arrest them in their tracks, or inflict an illness on them. Alternatively, a nkisi can be used to embody and direct a spirit; similarly, it can be used as a hiding place for a troubled soul, keeping order.

Nkisi, in west-central African lore, any object or material substance invested with sacred energy and made available for spiritual protection. One tradition of the Kongo people of west-central Africa holds that the god Funza gave the world the first nkisi. Africans uprooted during the Atlantic slave-trade era carried with them some knowledge of nkisi making. In places throughout the United States, particularly in the Deep South, African descendants still create minkisi. Nkisi making is also found throughout the Caribbean and South America, in places such as Cuba, Haiti, and Brazil.

This wild appearance of the Nganga was intended to create a frightening effect, or kimbulua in the Kongo language. The nganga's costume was often modeled on his nkisi. The act of putting on the costume was itself part of the performance; all participants were marked with red and white stripes, called makila, for protection.

The "circles of white around the eyes" refer to mamoni lines (from the verb mona, to see). These lines purport to indicate the ability to see hidden sources of illness and evil.

Yombe nganga often wore white masks, whose color represented the spirit of a deceased person. White was also associated with justice, order, truth, invulnerability, and insight: all virtues associated with the nganga.

The nganga is instructed in the composition of the nkondi, perhaps in a dream, by a particular spirit. In one description of the banganga's process, the nganga then cuts down a tree for the wood that s/he will use to construct the nkondi. He then kills a chicken, which causes the death of a hunter who has been successful in killing game and whose captive soul subsequently animates the nkondi figure. Based on this process, *Gell writes that the nkondi is a figure an index of cumulative agency, a "visible knot tying together an invisible skein of spatio-temporal relations" of which participants in the ritual are aware

After a tribal carver artist completed carving the artifact, the "nganga" transformed it into an object capable of healing illness, settling disputes, safeguarding the peace, and punishing wrongdoers. Each work of this kind or "nkisi" is associated with a spirit, that is subjected to a degree of human control.
Europeans may have encountered these objects during expeditions to the Congo as early as the 15th century. However, several of these fetish objects, as they were often termed, were confiscated by missionaries in the late 19th century and were destroyed as evidence of sorcery or heathenism. Nevertheless, several were collected as objects of fascination and even as an object of study of Kongo culture. Kongo traditions such as those of the nkisi nkondi have survived over the centuries and migrated to the Americas and the Caribbean via Afro-Atlantic religious practices such as vodun, Palo Monte, and macumba. In Hollywood these figures have morphed into objects of superstition such as New Orleans voodoo dolls covered with stick pins. Nonetheless, minkisi have left an indelible imprint as visually provocative figures of spiritual importance and protection.

Often such figures were placed outside, or within, the hut of a certain form of tribal elder, what we would refer to as, the tribal witch-doctor, called a Nganga as a symbol of his position within the local village, and his ability to cause magical curses and unpleasantness for villagers who had fallen out with others of the village or region, who then sought out the services of the so called 'witch-doctor' to resolve the problem, with, such as, a curse.

Vintage Hand Carved African Medicine Man Nkisi figures. Esoteric collector's pieces, connected to the so-called western term of Voodoo {vodou} magic, part of the pantheon of the occult, magic & witchcraft of Africa.

Among the various Kongo peoples, nkisi means a sacred medicine. This word has been extended to include objects containing that medicine as well. The carved wooden statues referred to in the 19th century as nail fetishes and more recently as power figures containing medicine that imbues them with divine power, are therefore nkisi as well. Due to the medicine they contain (which is administered by a witch doctor or nganga), they act as agents of divine power, granting requests. healing or attesting to agreements. Each decision or resolution is literally nailed down in the figure.

A certain class of nkisi, called nkondi, are able to enforce the solutions they provide actively and to seek vengeance against those who heed them not. These figures either menace the viewer with spears and fierce facial expressions, or strike intimidating, belligerent poses.

Nkisi nkondi specialize in different areas of life. The most important nkisi nkondi carries out mangaaka, or preeminent justice.

Surveillance or watchfulness assist the effective enforcement of the power figure’s decisions. This is registered in the size of the eyes or, in some cases, by multiple sets of eyes. The rope wrapped around some figures represents a snake, a watchful predator who lends its powers of observation to the figure. Double-headed figures have double the visual powers and can see into the city of the dead and the realm of the living at the same time.

Each power figure has a distinct personality, ranging from contemplative to angry to soulful to reserved to compassionate. The ability to suggest those qualities visually with such immediacy and precision is one of the most impressive aspect of the surviving figures.

Kongo religion Kikongo: Bukongo. Bakongo religion was translocated to the Americas along with its enslaved practitioners. Some surviving traditions include conjure, dreaming, possession by the dead to learn wisdom from the ancestors, traditional healing and working with minkisi. The spiritual traditions and religions that have preserved Kongo traditions include Hoodoo, Palo Monte, Lumbalú, Kumina, Haitian Vodou, Candomblé Bantu, Kongo traditions such as those of the nkisi nkondi have survived over the centuries and migrated to the Americas and the Caribbean via Afro-Atlantic religious practices such as vodun, Palo Monte, and macumba.

Similar examples in the Smithsonian and Metropolitan in the USA. One very similar nkisi, from the late 19th to mid 20th century has been a highlight of the Rockefeller collection since its acquisition in 1952. we show two examples of the similar Kongo type as ours, from around the same time, in the gallery of photographs

*Gell, A . The Art of Anthropologie. London: Humanities Press  read more

Code: 25513

A Delightful & Beautiful Early to Mid Edo Period 1598-1863 Samurai War Arrow. A Long Bladed Armour Piercing Tagari-Ya, With Yadake Bamboo haft, & Sea Eagle Feather Flights and a Traditional Tamahagane Tempered Steel Head In Stunning Polish with Hamon

With original traditional eagle feathers, probably the large edge-wing feathers of a Japanese sea eagle. The armour pierceing arrow tip, that is swollen at the tip to have the extra piercing power to penetrate armour and helmets {kabuto}, is a brightly polished, traditional tamagahane steel hand made, by a sword smith, long arrow head, originally hand made with folding and tempering exactly as would be a samurai sword blade, possibly signed on the tang under the binding but we would never remove it to see. The Edo period early eagle feathers are now slightly worn. It is entirely indicative of the Japanese principle that as much time skill and effort be used to create a single 'fire and forget' arrow, as would be used to make a tanto or katana. A British or European blacksmith might once have made ten or twenty arrows a day, a Japanese craftsman might take a week to make a single arrow, that has a useable combat life of maybe two minutes, the same as a simplest British long bow arrow.

The Togari-Ya or pointed arrowheads look like a miniature version of a long Yari (spear) and were used only for war and are armour piercing arrows . Despite being somewhat of a weapon that was 'fire and forget' it was created regardless of cost and time, like no other arrow ever was outside of Japan. For example, to create the arrow head alone, in the very same traditional way today, using tamahagane steel, folding and forging, water quench tempering, then followed by polishing, it would likely cost way in excess of a thousand pounds, that is if you could find a Japanese master sword smith today who would make one for you. Then would would need hafting, binding, and feathering, by a completely separate artisan, and finally, using eagle feathers as flights, would be very likely impossible. This is a simple example of how incredible value finest samurai weaponry can be, items that can be acquired from us that would cost many times the price of our original antiques in order to recreate today. Kyu Jutsu is the art of Japanese archery.The beginning of archery in Japan is pre-historical. The first images picturing the distinct Japanese asymmetrical longbow are from the Yayoi period (c. 500 BC – 300 AD).
The changing of society and the military class (samurai) taking power at the end of the first millennium created a requirement for education in archery. This led to the birth of the first kyujutsu ryūha (style), the Henmi-ryū, founded by Henmi Kiyomitsu in the 12th century. The Takeda-ryū and the mounted archery school Ogasawara-ryū were later founded by his descendants. The need for archers grew dramatically during the Genpei War (1180–1185) and as a result the founder of the Ogasawara-ryū (Ogasawara Nagakiyo), began teaching yabusame (mounted archery) In the twelfth and thirteenth century a bow was the primary weapon of a warrior on the battlefield. Bow on the battlefield stopped dominating only after the appearance of firearm.The beginning of archery in Japan is pre-historical. The first images picturing the distinct Japanese asymmetrical longbow are from the Yayoi period (c. 500 BC – 300 AD).
The changing of society and the military class (samurai) taking power at the end of the first millennium created a requirement for education in archery. This led to the birth of the first kyujutsu ryūha (style), the Henmi-ryū, founded by Henmi Kiyomitsu in the 12th century. The Takeda-ryū and the mounted archery school Ogasawara-ryū were later founded by his descendants. The need for archers grew dramatically during the Genpei War (1180–1185) and as a result the founder of the Ogasawara-ryū (Ogasawara Nagakiyo), began teaching yabusame (mounted archery) Warriors practiced several types of archery, according to changes in weaponry and the role of the military in different periods. Mounted archery, also known as military archery, was the most prized of warrior skills and was practiced consistently by professional soldiers from the outset in Japan. Different procedures were followed that distinguished archery intended as warrior training from contests or religious practices in which form and formality were of primary importance. Civil archery entailed shooting from a standing position, and emphasis was placed upon form rather than meeting a target accurately. By far the most common type of archery in Japan, civil or civilian archery contests did not provide sufficient preparation for battle, and remained largely ceremonial. By contrast, military training entailed mounted maneuvers in which infantry troops with bow and arrow supported equestrian archers.

Mock battles were staged, sometimes as a show of force to dissuade enemy forces from attacking. While early medieval warfare often began with a formalized archery contest between commanders, deployment of firearms and the constant warfare of the 15th and 16th centuries ultimately led to the decline of archery in battle. In the Edo period archery was considered an art, and members of the warrior classes participated in archery contests that venerated this technique as the most favoured weapon of the samurai. In the gallery is from an edo exhibition of archery that shows a tagari ya arrow pierced completely through, back and front, an armoured steel multi plate kabuto helmet.

Every item is accompanied with our unique, Certificate of Authenticity. Of course any certificate of authenticity, given by even the best specialist dealers, in any field, all around the world, is simply a piece of paper,…however, ours is backed up with the fact we are the largest dealers of our kind in the world, with over 100 years and four generation’s of professional trading experience behind us  read more

Code: 25512