Vasari Art Codex

trending_up market schedule Oct 17, 2025 visibility 1 link 1 artist, 3 galleries

Double-edged sword: arms and armour play a small—but mighty—role at Frieze Masters

At Frieze Masters, dealer Peter Finer presents a stand filled with historical arms and armour, including a gilded horse-and-rider suite priced at £1.8 million, an Italian Renaissance sword with a Medusa hilt, and a late 16th-century crossbow. Prices range from £6,500 to seven figures. Finer, whose dealership was founded in 1967, is the sole specialist in this category at the fair, with clients ranging from major museums to niche collectors, such as a Viking sword enthusiast. Other scattered examples include a silver-gilt Shield of Achilles at Koopman Rare Art and Bronze Age spearheads at Rupert Wace.

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Double-edged sword: arms and armour play a small—but mighty—role at Frieze Masters

At Frieze Masters, dealer Peter Finer presents a standout booth of arms and armour, including a gilded horse-and-rider suit priced at £1.8m, an Italian Renaissance sword, and a 16th-century crossbow. Prices range from £6,500 to seven figures. Finer, whose dealership was founded in 1967, dominates this niche category at the fair, with clients ranging from major museums to specialist collectors. Other scattered examples include a silver-gilt Shield of Achilles at Koopman Rare Art and Bronze Age spearheads at Rupert Wace.