25th Jun, 2025 11:00
Fine Antique Arms, Armour & Militaria June 2025
134
A VERY FINE GERMAN EXECUTIONER’S SWORD, DATED 1569
with bright broad double-edged rebated blade with shallow central fuller over each side of the forte, one side with incised latten-inlaid gibbet above the date beyond, and on the other with a latten-inlaid gibbet in the form of a St. Catherine wheel, steel hilt retaining much original blueing and comprising straight quillons of circular section slightly widening towards the rounded tips, compressed globular pommel with turned collar and surmounted by a flattened tang button, and bottle-shaped grip wrapped in blackened fish skin, in original wood-lined scabbard covered in dark leather seamed along the inside and lightly tooled with double line borders and roundels, the latter at the side-pocket for the by-knife and awl, each with dark horn grip (one with old split) of tapering ovoidal section, the former with incised cutler’s mark on one side of the single-edged blade, iron openwork chape (possibly later) involving a flower-head centred on an incised roundel on both sides at the bottom and a double scroll centred on a chequered oval on both sides at the top, complete with its leather suspension belt with iron buckle, and in fine condition, 85.5 cm blade, 109.2 cm overall
Provenance
Ambrogio Uboldo (1785-1865), Milan
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Christie, Manson & Woods, Ltd., Catalogue of Rare and Interesting Arms and Armour From The Collection Of The Metropolitan Museum Of New York (Sold by Order of The Board of Trustees), 22nd and 23rd November 1960, lot 304
Ambrogio Uboldo (1785–1865) was a Milanese aristocrat and banker who was celebrated in his lifetime for his outstanding collection that included antiquities, art and arms and armour. The armoury was housed in his ancestral palace on via del Pantano and comprised over 1,500 pieces arranged chronologically charting the narrative from the earliest times up until the 19th century. It was published in two volumes in 1839-40 and was heavily looted in the uprisings of 1840, after which many pieces were sold to William Riggs and then on to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Sold for £60,000
with bright broad double-edged rebated blade with shallow central fuller over each side of the forte, one side with incised latten-inlaid gibbet above the date beyond, and on the other with a latten-inlaid gibbet in the form of a St. Catherine wheel, steel hilt retaining much original blueing and comprising straight quillons of circular section slightly widening towards the rounded tips, compressed globular pommel with turned collar and surmounted by a flattened tang button, and bottle-shaped grip wrapped in blackened fish skin, in original wood-lined scabbard covered in dark leather seamed along the inside and lightly tooled with double line borders and roundels, the latter at the side-pocket for the by-knife and awl, each with dark horn grip (one with old split) of tapering ovoidal section, the former with incised cutler’s mark on one side of the single-edged blade, iron openwork chape (possibly later) involving a flower-head centred on an incised roundel on both sides at the bottom and a double scroll centred on a chequered oval on both sides at the top, complete with its leather suspension belt with iron buckle, and in fine condition, 85.5 cm blade, 109.2 cm overall
Provenance
Ambrogio Uboldo (1785-1865), Milan
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Christie, Manson & Woods, Ltd., Catalogue of Rare and Interesting Arms and Armour From The Collection Of The Metropolitan Museum Of New York (Sold by Order of The Board of Trustees), 22nd and 23rd November 1960, lot 304
Ambrogio Uboldo (1785–1865) was a Milanese aristocrat and banker who was celebrated in his lifetime for his outstanding collection that included antiquities, art and arms and armour. The armoury was housed in his ancestral palace on via del Pantano and comprised over 1,500 pieces arranged chronologically charting the narrative from the earliest times up until the 19th century. It was published in two volumes in 1839-40 and was heavily looted in the uprisings of 1840, after which many pieces were sold to William Riggs and then on to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Auction: Fine Antique Arms, Armour & Militaria June 2025, 25th Jun, 2025
Auction Location: London, UK
The Antique Arms, Armour and Militaria department run by Thomas Del Mar is now a recognised world leader in this field.
The sales offer a broad selection of objects from all over the world, from the earliest times until the Great War. Firearms from the earliest matchlock, wheel-lock, flintlock, percussion and pin-fire guns, rifles, pistols and revolvers; edged weapons from the bronze age, Viking, Medieval and Renaissance periods through to the swords of the regular armies of the 18th and 19th centuries; armour from the earliest times through the medieval and renaissance periods to the First World War; African, Australasian, Chinese, Islamic and Japanese weapons and armour; accessories including gunpowder flasks, gun locks, mechanical locks, iron work and books.
Contact the Department for further information | armsandarmour@olympiaauctions.com | + 44 (0) 20 7806 5541
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PUBLIC EXHIBITION:
Sunday 22nd June:12pm to 4pm
Monday 23rd June: 10am to 7pm
Tuesday 24th June: 10am to 5pm
