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Cavalry
The rise and fall of the Mounted warrior Throughout military history, from ancient civilizations rig..
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Armour
Although the word armour refers to protective gear rather than weapons...
» more - Bows & Arrows
Elegant, simple and perhaps the most sophisticated of the early projectile weapons, the bow and arrow take various forms in ancient cultures as diverse as Egypt, Japan, Africa and Europe. It most likely began as a hunting tool, and only later became an implement of war.
»more - Guns & Firearms
The weapons that changed the face of battle. More dramatically than any other weapon before it, the technology of the gun radically altered the face of military confrontation. This effective combustion-powered projectile weapon finally relegated hand-to-hand combat to the history of books.
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Blades, Swords & Spears
The skill of fencing
The word fencing describes any form of armed combat involving cutting, stabbing or bludgeoning weapons – such as swords, knives, blades, pikes, bayonets, combat spears or clubs. However, in today’s context, fencing is most commonly associated with European schools of sport swordsmanship, played using the foil, epée or sabre.
Once a necessary battlefield survival skill, the art of fencing has now been wholly displaced by the development of combustion-powered ranged weapons.
Yet the history of this weapon and the skill required to wield it remain prized in sporting terms.
Iranian straight dagger (kard) with hilt and scabbard of copper, enamelled in blues, pink reds and white. XIXth century.
Indian all steel spear with four-sided spear point and engraved shaft.
Very fine Javanese spear with inlaid gold decoration. The wood shaft is decorated with a silver collar and terminates in a pamor blade chiseled with a double naga (snake). 18th century.
African spear with simple wood shaft affixed to a beaten iron, leaf-shaped blade.