Christie’s has a long and illustrious history concerning the sale of arms, armour and sporting guns with James Christie’s very first auction in 1766 including a small number of firearms. Since then Christie’s have sold many exceptional pieces and have been privileged to offer items from famous collections including Herr Richard Zschille (1897), Sir Guy Francis Laking (1920), Clarence H. Mackay (1939) and in more recent times from the Rothschild Collection (1999), the world famous W. Keith Neal Collection (1995, 2000 and 2001) and the Raglan Collection (2014). Today specially selected objects from this intriguing genre can be found within our curated decorative arts auctions across our London, New York and Paris salerooms. These include The Exceptional Sale, presenting museum quality pieces; The Collector sales, offering a tailored selection of works of art, porcelain, silver and furniture for connoisseurs; Interiors sales, featuring contemporary and classic pieces for the home; and Private Collection sales, showcasing the collecting passions of iconic figures, tastemakers, private collectors and interior designers.
From the finest medieval swords and renaissance armour to exceptional antique and modern sporting firearms, Christie’s interests in this emotive subject spans many centuries of world history with a focus on items of exceptional provenance, quality and rarity.