Thomas Del Mar

Birmingham-born Roy Elvis (1944- 2022) inherited his family interest in antiques and started collecting furniture and decorative arts from an early age.

Once thought to have been made in antiquity, bucklers are now understood to have been late medieval or Tudor small shields.

A composite German full armour, c.1500-10, from a European Collection was one of the highlights of Thomas Del Mar’s (25% buyer’s premium) sale of Fine Antique Arms, Armour & Militaria held at Olympia Auctions on June 29.

David Jeffcoat (1945-2020) was a man with many interests, not least setting up dining clubs such as the Lunardi Society celebrating the achievements of a hot air balloonist and another named after a local vicar turned highwayman.

The most unusual armour lot to emerge in recent sales was the late 16th century German brass parade cuirass which made £86,000 at Thomas Del Mar (20% buyer’s premium) in London on December 8.

A Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund sword of £100 value took the honours at a Bonhams’ (27.5/25/20/14.5% buyer’s premium) sale of arms and armour.

Catalogued as ‘fine and exceptionally rare’, a north German parade cuirass is on its way to the Art Institute of Chicago after being sold at auction.

The outstanding lot in the arms and armour sale held in London on June 30 by Thomas Del Mar (25% buyer’s premium) was the £96,000 16th century Augsburg close helmet illustrated on the front page of last week’s ATG (No 2501).

Among the properties included in the June Thomas Del Mar sale was the McEwen collection of bows and associated items which proved unexpectedly popular raising £30,000, around four times its top estimate.

A Renaissance helmet sold at a London auction will be reunited with its garniture (set of armour) after being bought by Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA).

Such was the demand for suits of armour from late 19th and early 20th century collectors that European master armourers were kept hard at work long after the practical need for such protective wear had passed.

Nicolas-Noel Boutet and Anton Vincent Lebeda pistols star at two London auctions.

Krupp mountain guns made in Nanjing as China modernised come up at Thomas Del Mar auction.

Even the composite parts of weapons now long lost have a value at auction.

Thomas Del Mar (25% buyer’s premium) brightened the end of the summer season in London on July 30 with a 300–lot sale of arms and armour.

A north Italian close helmet for field use, c.1550-60, with etched decoration which made £13,000 at Thomas Del Mar (25% buyer’s premium) on July 30.

This 19th century Indian knife with a shaped and carved horn handle comes in its original morocco case.

A mid-16th century 54-bore south German breech-loading wheel-lock holster pistol trebled its top estimate to take £75,000 at a recent sale held by Thomas Del Mar.

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.

Edged weapons from the East continue to feature regularly among the top lots in auctions across the world. Awareness of the rich array of culturally-significant weapons to be found in Western collections has grown as internet technology reaches a new international audience.