Hermann Historica

As travel possibilities opened up with the advent of railways and steamships, the question of how to transport belongings became an important one. One of the first manufacturers to tackle this with great success was entrepreneur and designer Louis Vuitton (1821-92).

This elegant pair of finely worked early Hellenistic gold bracelets featuring a rather sympathetic and graceful rendering of the snake-haired gorgon Medusa are believed to have been made by a courtly goldsmith workshop during the 4th-3rd century BC.

At the 19th century international exhibitions, the Viennese silversmith Hermann Ratzendorfer (1845-94) gained a reputation for his mixed-media works in the neo-Renaissance taste.

Military uniforms reached their ornamental peak in the 19th century Western Europe – with the leaders of the day sharing in their ostentation

Rare and well-preserved armour from pre-history to the 17th century was well received in the pre-Christmas sales. Three examples are pictured here.

The extensive autumn sale at Hermann Historica in Munich runs from November 11-20 and is accompanied by five catalogues for the ‘bricks and mortar’ sale and a further six for the subsequent online auctions.

After more than 20 years in the heart of Munich arms and armour specialist auction house Hermann Historica has moved to bigger premises in the suburbs.

Codes are there to be broken, as the Second World War British team at Bletchley Park proved by cracking the German Enigma machines.

The inscription London on the barrels of this pair of 19th century, silver-mounted flintlock pistols is entirely spurious.

Two suits of armour that emerged in recent auctions at Continental salerooms.

Two pieces with imperial connections took the top honours during the November 5-23 sale at Hermann Historica (25% buyer’s premium) in Munich.

It took a bid of €60,000 (£53,100) to secure a pair of flintlock pistols of c.1730 from the armoury of the Princes of Lobkowitz at Hermann Historica (25% buyer’s premium) in Munich in May.

Among the thousands of lots in Hermann Historica’s (25% buyer’s premium) May sales series in Munich, one of the highlights was this gold inlaid karud from Turkestan which sold at €29,000 (£25,665).

Germany’s most expensive painting sold at auction, an unusual early firearm and a fin de siècle snake charmer are among the highlights featured here from recent auctions in Munich, Berlin and Cologne.

Hermann Historica (23% buyer’s premium) of Munich mounted its customary assault on the arms and armour market with no fewer than seven catalogues covering more than 6000 objects, ranging from ancient Greek helmets to military and other vehicles.

IN ATG No 2271 we covered a set of Japanese armour from the Rudolf Ott collection sold at Hermann Historica (23% buyer’s premium) on October 24-November 5.