Border of reserved running tendrils and leaves, central panel a horseman riding in a landscape; white horse with saddle blanket supporting a hero with plumed helmet and shield slung over his back, wielding a dagger in his left hand against a winged serpent wrapped around the rump and hindlegs of his horse, his right hand strangling another such beast; mounted in a wooden display frame. 5.2 kg, 44.5 x 45 cm

Ex private collection, UK.
with Rosebery's, London, UK, 10 December 2013, no.1184.
with Weber Kunsthandel, Cologne, Germany.

Comprising five large wheel clamps and twenty conical rivets; each C-section clamp with tongue-shaped later lugs with rivets to both sides; mounted on a custom-made wheel-shaped display mount. 19.35 kg, 98 cm diameter

Acquired before 1983.
Ex London gallery, 1990s.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12038-216335.

The custom of burying the deceased with chariots and the respective yoked animals has been documented since the 3rd millennium B.C. Bronze wheel clamps similar to these have been found in Elamite and Urartian graves, and are consistent with Assyrian and Elamite models. These clamps have important parallels, including those found from the Susa region which show an affinity with Assyrian iconography.

The hilt with conical openwork hollow-cast pommel, grip decorated with horizontal grooves and twisted zig-zag pattern, crescentic guard decorated with waves, long blade with ridged mid-grip. 613 grams, 58.5 cm

Kuizenga collection, the Netherlands, acquired in Utrecht 21 December 1977.
with Bonhams, London, 7 December 2023, no.154.

This category of swords has been classified by Khorasani as 'swords with a mushroom pommel' and are usually characterised by a solid-cast hilt with a penannular guard, a ribbed or variously decorated grip and the conical hollow-cast mushroom pommel. Usually the blade is multi-fullered and tapers to a sharp tip. Moorey considers them to be from the end of the 2nd millennium B.C.

With broad lobed pommel, balustered grip and narrow guard; lentoid-section triangular blade; extremely rare and unusual. 83 grams, 19.5 cm

From a Mayfair, London gallery, 1990s.

With solid cast hilt with penannular guard and a horizontally ribbed grip; a conical stone mushroom pommel and a multi-fullered blade tapering to a sharp tip; handle repaired. 876 grams, 56 cm

Acquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.

According to Moorey, such category of swords were distributed in the Northern Iran area, as proved by the Amarlu finds. Based on the example from the Ashmolean Museum, he dated them to the end of the 2nd millennium B.C., more precisely to a period between 1400-1200 B.C.

Comprising a pair of curved iron bars linked at the centre, loop at each outer end attached to a substantial flat-section ring with lateral lug pierced to accept a strap. 377 grams, 26 cm

From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.

With incised text to the midrib on one face, less well-defined characters to the reverse. 9.2 grams, 63 mm

From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.

The arrowhead seems to carry a Proto-Aramaic or Phoenician inscription like many arrows found in the Levant and Israel. They are usually reporting proper names like ‘Suwar, retainer of Abday’. As far as the function of these arrowheads is concerned, we know that the name inscribed on them was the owner's because successive owner's names were incised on two palimpsest examples. The letters engraved upon our arrow seem to be in the Phoenician alphabet and read ḤŞ’Ḥ’ (arrow of…) on the reverse, and ’Š I Š Q (?) (man of…) on the obverse.

With D-section hoop and triangular extension decorated with incised hatching; parcel-gilt silver with three discoid plates to the shank. 25.68 grams, 42.70 mm overall, 21.06 mm internal diameter (approximate size British X 1/2, USA 11 3/4, Europe 26.92, Japan 25)

Ex German art market, 2000s.
Acquired from an EU collector living in London.
From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman.

Two panels from a scale armour coat composed of more than two hundred overlapping bronze scales, each mounted onto a custom-made leather panel for purposes of display; the scales formed in different series, some having holes only in the upper part, some with three holes in the upper part and two holes to the left, and others showing three upper holes and one side hole. 255 grams total, 15.2-16.5 cm

From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12044-216404.

The favourite armour of the Scythian noblemen was composed of scales, usually protecting the torso, sometimes the entire body (kataphraktoi). The Scythians found that the most efficient method was to arrange the overlapping ‘fish-scales’ as a corselet made of a number of bronze and iron plates, which then protected the wearer against sword and spear thrusts. Our scales correspond well to bronze scales found in May 1961 in an accidentally destroyed burial in a barrow, near the village of Nadezhda Sovetsky district. They were discovered together with iron scales, a Greek Corinthian helmet, fragments of an amphora, five arrowheads and fragments of an iron sword. Most of these bronze scales were oblong in shape, with a sub-rectangular upper end and a rounded lower end, but slightly bigger than our scales.

Comprising twelve rectangular plaques and a garnet inlaid buckle, each of the plaques with a pair of low-relief emperor's busts within a pelletted frame. 150 grams total, 35-61 mm

From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.

Group of rectangular mounts each with fixing studs to the reverse, decorated with a dense foliage and leaf motif. 205 grams total, 24-26 mm

From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.

With three-lobe pommel and decorated guard; the blade 45mm wide at the upper end, gently tapering with fuller to both faces, rounded tip, indented ring to one face with silver inlay, scaphoid-section lower guard with two rows of shallow pellets to each face gilt or latten inlay; flat tapering tang; pommel of Petersen's Type S with traces of vertical inlaid wire. 752 grams, 93 cm

From the family collection of a London gentleman; formed in the late 1940s-1950s; thence by descent.

Accompanied by metallurgic analytical report number 114366/569, written by metallurgist Dr Brian Gilmour of the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12020-214090.