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Lot 394

A Very Rare Royalist Civil War Period BackSword
Mid-17th Century

Antique Arms and Armour and Modern Sporting Guns

29 November 2018, 10:30 GMT

London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £5,625 inc. premium

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A Very Rare Royalist Civil War Period BackSword
Mid-17th Century

With tapering blade cut with two fullers along the back over most of its length to the double-edged point, the fullers on each side on at the forte incised 'I I N K E X', iron hilt comprising solid guard pierced and chiselled over the outside with Tudor roses within wreaths of victory, the large rose at the front surmounted by a crown, all against a ground of foliage, scrolled wrist-guard, knuckle-guard flanked by three recurved diagonal bars to bifurcated side-bars and all chiselled en suite, the knuckle-guard and side-bars screwed to the globular pommel, the latter chiselled en suite with the guard and with compressed tang button, and leather-covered wooden grip bound with two later strands of twisted copper between original brass wire Turk's heads (some pitting overall)
88.5 cm. blade

Footnotes

Provenance
By repute Warwick Museum, Warwickshire
Christie's London, The Important Collection of Armour And Arms, Many of which have been exhibited at the 'Tudor, Armada & Venetian Exhibitions, of Edwin J. Brett, Esq., ...' 18-25 March 1895, lot 249
W.H. Fenton Collection
Sotheby & Co., London, Firearms And Swords..., 23 March 1964, lot 102, the property of Sir Gordon Cummings
Christie's London, The Winsbury Collection, 27 June 1973, lot 104
Blunt Collection
Cook Collection

Literature
Edwin J. Brett, A Pictorial and Descriptive Record Of The Origin And Development Of Arms and Armour..., 1894, pl. LXXIV (3)
Michael Harrison, 'A Civil War Sword With A Royalist Badge', The Journal of the Arms & Armour Society, Vol. XVIII, No. 4 (September 2005), pp. 151-157 (illustrated)

The Rose and Crown is the private household badge of the monarch. The letters on the blade probably stand for Jesus (of the) Jews (of) Nazareth Rex

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