For many years auctioneers have been itching to move the finest arms and armour from the province of the specialist collector and establish them with a wider audience as works of art in their own right.
Recent sales have proved that this is no longer a vain attempt with three big sellers being offered in settings well away from a specialist sale.
Last November an 18th century Chinese imperial ‘Supreme Grade, Number One’ musket took its rightful place among other works of art made for the Qianlong emperor at Sotheby’s in London, where expert in charge Robert Bradlow hailed it as “one of the most significant Chinese treasures ever to come to auction”. It duly sold for £1.65m.