antique arms, armour & militaria - Thomas Del Mar Ltd

223
A RARE ENGLISH RAPIER, SECOND QUARTER OF THE
17TH CENTURY
with straight double-edged blade incised with the sacred
trigram ‘IHS’ within a short fuller on each side,
rectangular ricasso, steel hilt of slender rounded bars
comprising down-curved quillon with flattened globular
terminal, a pair of arms, knuckle-guard terminating in a
chiselled scroll, outer-guard of a single-bar swelling in the
centre and joining the knuckle-guard at the top, bifurcated
inner-guard, chiselled globular pommel, the outer and
inner-guards each filled with a large steel plate, the
former embossed with scrolling tendrils and differing
patterns of foliage inhabited by a pair of addorsed marine
monsters issuant from a cuirass all’antica in the centre, a
gaping beast and a further serpent, and the latter
decorated with further designs including a classical
helmet surmounted by a pair of flaming torches, the
pommel decorated en suite, and retaining an early grip
bound with plaited wire and ‘Turk’s heads’
115cm; 45Din blade
223 224
The form and decoration of this sword is notably unusual.
An undecorated sword of similar construction was sold
Christie’s, South Kensington, 12th July 2000, lot 53.
£4000-5000
224
AN ENGLISH BASKET-HILTED BACKSWORD, MID-17TH
CENTURY
with tapering blade double-edged towards the tip, cut
with a pair of long fullers on each face and stamped with
the letters ‘K. A. H.’, symmetrical steel basket-guard of socalled
mortuary type, pierced and chiselled with scrolling
foliage inhabited by cherubs over the base, short scrolling
quillon, frontal guard decorated with a grotesque mask
and bifurcated at the base, knuckle-guard chiselled with
foliage and joined to the frontal guard by a pair of bars
each interrupted by a foliate moulding (minor repairs),
globular pommel chiselled with scrolling foliage, and later
wire-bound grip
89.5cm; 35Din blade
£1200-1800
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