Very Large Viking Iron Battle Notched Axehead

Comprising a broad blade tapering to an armour-piercing point, the steel side bars and balustered grips decorated with copper Koftgari work flowers and scrolls. 488 grams, 48 cm

General condition very good.

Property of a London gallery.

Unique to South Asia, the quatar or katar was a dagger that held at the crossbars with a clenched fist. The weapon was meant to be thrust into the opponent or prey from a close range. Rajput and Mughal royalty used this weapon to hunt tigers and even crocodiles to demonstrate their bravery and martial skill.

Double-action with .44 calibre six-shot cylinder, hinged frame and loading arm with 15cm (6") barrel; marked 'STARR ARMS CO NEW YORK' to left frame, 'STARR'S PATENT JAN 15 1858' to right, numbered 705 to cylinder and 8795/W to front frame; plain wood grip with illegible stamped inspector mark each side; action slightly weak. 1.12 kg, 29 cm



Acquired from Bottomley Antiques & Armour, 2014. The Kusmirek Collection, UK. Accompanied by a copy of the Bottomley invoice.

Sold as an exempt item under Section 58 (2) of the Firearms Act, 1968, to be held as a curiosity or ornament. No license required but buyer must be over 18 years of age. Overseas bidders should note that, due to UK regulations governing export of all firearms, overseas buyers will need to make arrangements for shipping this lot out of the UK directly, by air freight, with a specialist company or agent.

Petersen Type L variant with double-edged pattern-welded blade (waving pattern) showing evidence of being employed, tapering fullers and hefty tang; boat-shaped lower guard, cocked hat pommel with traces of silver inlay; some restoration. 996 grams, 90 cm



From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. 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.11816-206858.

This sword shows evidence of beautiful pattern-welding. The great curvature of the hilt, stronger than any other type of Viking swords, characterises the typology of L swords. This is clearly visible on the specimens from Dolven and Nedre (Stokke) published by Petersen (1919, figs.94-95).