Antiquities and armour at Apollo
The Apollo Antiquities, Islamic
Art & Militaria auction on 10-11 June has a wealth of classic arms and armour up for grabs. Here are some of what’s on offer. The very first lot is a Polish hussars helmet from the second half of the 17th century, with impeccable provenance too. The skull is decorated with big brass rosette. Horizontal visor, fixed to the skull with rivets, decorated with round brass rosettes. Each lame is decorated with characteristic brass elements. This type of decoration is characteristic only to Polish hussars helmets. The opening price is £4,000 and the estimate is a whopping £12,000-£20,000 with a BP of 25% direct or 29.94% if through the-saleroom.com.
Now if you bagged that lot then what better to go with it than a matching pair of karwasz, with a central ridge, edges decorated with characteristic brass elements. These also came from a classical Polish hussars armour of so-called winged hussars. All parts of classical Polish hussars armour are very rare in the market, these arms guards (karwasz) too. The opening price is therefore £1,100 with an estimate of £2,700-£5,400.
Next is a Polish or German lobster tail helmet from c. 17th century. Consisting of a round, one-piece skull with nice traces of hammering. Horizontal visor, fixed to the skull with rivets. Cheek guards of an interesting shape, with eight holes. Neck guard from three movable lames. Unusual helmet, most probably belonging to 17th-century hussars of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Opening price is £550, estimate is £1,350-£2,700.
Now if you want a piece of history then how about a Viking sword from c. 900-1000 AD? An iron forged sword featuring a broad blade with parallel edges, tapering to a sharp point, ideal for piercing armour and delivering devastating blows in battle. A deep fuller runs nearly through the whole length of the blade, reducing its weight and increasing its balance and agility. Opening bids are at £1,500 with an estimate of £3,750-£7,500.
A little more modern with this next sword, it’s a c. 1808, rare Napoleonic war sabre ‘Briquet’, model 1767, dating from the invasion of Spain by Napoleon the 1st in 1808. Brass hilt with D-shaped guard, slightly curved single-edged blade. Current bid is £120, estimate is £300-£600.
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