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Lot 1258

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Post Medieval Gunner's Dirk

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Circa 1690 AD A gunner's stiletto or dirk with rectangular-section blade, elliptical quillon with four lobed extensions, wire-bound grip and bulbous brass pommel; the blade tapering sharply to a narrow square-section point, engraved on one face with a series of transverse lines in a graded scale. 260 grams, 48 cm (19") Property of a Sussex Gentleman; acquired before 1990. The gunner's dirk or stiletto was a side-arm used by cannon crews, the fine point used to clear carbon residue from the touch-hole of artillery pieces and the scale for measuring the appropriate quantity of powder for the size and weight of missile and the desired range. It doubled as a useful weapon for hand-to-hand fighting where its needle-like point could be inserted between the plates of a harness, and to despatch a fallen foe.

Very fine condition. Scarce.

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