Arms & Armour
The Antique Arms, Armour and Militaria department run by Thomas Del Mar is now a recognised world leader in this field.
The sales offer a broad selection of objects from all over the world, from the earliest times until the Great War. Firearms from the earliest matchlock, wheel-lock, flintlock, percussion and pin-fire guns, rifles, pistols and revolvers; edged weapons from the bronze age, Viking, Medieval and Renaissance periods through to the swords of the regular armies of the 18th and 19th centuries; armour from the earliest times through the medieval and renaissance periods to the First World War; African, Australasian, Chinese, Islamic and Japanese weapons and armour; accessories including gunpowder flasks, gun locks, mechanical locks, iron work and books.
Our auctions include a broad range of lots from relatively modest prices to the highest level. A number of distinguished ancestral and institutional collections have been sold from Britain, Europe and the United States, including:
- John Woodman Higgins Armoury Collection, Worcester Massachusetts, United States of America, sold for £3,104,343
- Warwick Castle, England, sold for £836,947
- The Armoury of the Princely House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Germany, sold for £713,100
The staff include the former Sotheby's department that oversaw the dispersal of the Hanoverian Royal Gunroom and the Brunswick Ducal Armoury in 2005, which continues to stand as a World Auction Record for an ancestral collection. In addition to holding regular auctions the department has published Tobias Capwell’s acclaimed book ‘Armour of the English Knight 1400-1450’. Forthcoming publications include: the second part of Tobias Capwell’s ‘Armour of the English Knight’, covering the years 1450-1500 and ‘Tournaments: A Thousand Years of Chivalry’, published in association with Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. The department has also organised a number of antique arms, armour and militaria fairs that have been attended by international collectors, curators and dealers.
FREE VALUATIONS
Auction valuations are provided free of charge.
Find out more
ADVICE ON SELLING OR BUYING
Let our world-class specialists get you the best results. Contact the Antique Arms, Armour and Militaria Department.
armsandarmour@olympiaauctions.com
+44 (0)20 7806 5541
PAST AUCTIONS
See what we sell and prices fetched by looking at our past catalogues and videos.
