Arthur Nobel is most popularly known for the prestigious yearly prizes that bear his name. As it happens, however, he was also a collector of swords, and Bonhams will offer a number of them at its June 20th Antique & Armor auction in San Francisco. The highlights are a late 16th century gold-inlaid Ottoman jambiya with scabbard (est. $30,000-50,000), and a 17th/early 18th century gold inlaid Persian shamshir with a 33-inch blade (est. $12,000-18,000).
Sporting guns are another category in the sale, led by an engraved and gold inlaid .375 H&H Magnum Beretta Model SSO Express double rifle (est. $20,000-30,000), and a .500 Nitro under lever double rifle by W. & J. Jeffrey & Company (est. $15,000-20,000). The auction also features a collection of edged weapons once in the collection of San Francisco’s De Young Museum, More recently, these hung in the Traveler’s Bar on Sutter Street. The collection includes six Venetian schiavona, swords used by the Estradiot mercenary troops in the 17th & 18th centuries.
Read more at Bonhams.
