Evans Transitional 34-Shot Musket

Iron fronted with visor, nasal guard bar and front and back gorget plates, the lifting visor marked with parallel lines; the front and back plates secured with a single hook. 2.25 kg, 34.5 cm high



Acquired on the UK art market. The Kusmirek Collection, UK. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no. 11766-203985.

During the latter half of the 16th century, the heavy 'knightly' lance gradually fell out of use, possibly because of the widespread adoption of the infantry pike. Also, the lance required a great amount of practice to perfect its use, whilst proficiency in the use of firearms was considerably more easily acquired. The lancer or demi-lancer, when he had abandoned his lance, became the pistol-armed cuirassier or reiter. The adoption of the pistol as the primary weapon led to the development of the stately caracole tactic, where cuirassiers fired their pistols at the enemy, then retired to reload whilst their comrades advanced in turn to maintain firing. Following some initial successes, this tactic proved to be extremely ineffective, as infantry, with superior firearms and numbers, could easily outgun the cuirassiers. The change from cavalry being reliant on firearms, to shock-capable close combat cavalry, reliant mainly on the sword, was attributed to Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in the 1620s and 1630s, but was actually already widely practiced throughout Europe since the invention of pistol-armed heavy cavalrymen in the late 16th century.

Comprising three weapons: a 'ronca contadina' (peasant scythed staff weapon, known as forest bill) made of trunco-conical tubular gorbia with tapering iron shaft, inclined to the right with respect to the axis of the weapon, ending in a bill; an alabarda-sergentina, iron blade halberd with central rib, two axe-heads, one convex one concave; an alghiero, guisarme with tapering pointed iron shaft of rectangular section, furnished with a side-bill; all three mounted upon wooden velvet-covered shafts. 6.3 kg total, 2.26-2.34 m



Ex Christie's, Holland, circa 2010. East Anglian private collection.

Certainly the most interesting of the three weapons is the peasant roncone. The hooked part of the weapon could be used to hook or cut things, but also for severing a horse's hocks causing both horse and rider to fall.

Comprising a hoop with reserved triangular ornament on the edges and triangular plaque with foliage motifs, raised central panel with frond motif. 22.61 grams, 34.77 mm overall, 25.16 mm internal diameter



Acquired in the 1990s. Ex Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.

Archer rings in Late Byzantium and the medieval Balkans were connected with the employment of the powerful composite bow, but very often, in the 14th century they served as insignia of rank for aristocratic noblemen. Archaeological findings of archers’ rings originate mainly from fortified towns, including mining centres. Many were made in bone, simple in design and undecorated. In contrast, the ones made in bronze and silver were usually decorated in rather uniform style, consisting of floral motifs on the head, mostly tulip and foliage, and linear motifs around the edges. This decoration combined Turkish, Central European and Eastern Roman traditional patterns.