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Ancient Art, Antiquities, Natural History & Coins

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Onion-shaped in profile with raised rim to the socket. 444 grams, 71 mm

Ex London gentleman's collection, 1990s.

Lot No. 1450
5
Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
Of cylindrical shape, the upper section with alternating rectangular panels and vertical rows of three prominent spikes, short cylindrical shaft edged at top and bottom. 294 grams, 17 cm

Acquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.

See Godard, A., Les Bronzes du Luristan, Paris, 1931, pl.XIX, no.58, for a similar; Khorasani, M. M., 'Bronze and iron weapons from Luristan' in Antiguo Oriente: Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente, 7, 2009, fig.8.

Lot No. 1451
3
Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
With foliate blade and raised mid-rib with the tang bent at the tip. 233 grams, 26.7 cm

Acquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.

Cf. Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 1, London, 2002, item 31, p.34, for similar blades.

Similar spearheads were excavated in the Marlik Royal cemetery by Dr Negahban, see for example in tomb 47, Trench XXIIE. They were the evolution of a typology which began much earlier in Mesopotamia and the fertile crescent, the type 4 of the Stronach classification, with straight tang and square section, usually thickened at the base with a button tang. The foliate blade was wide and exaggerated in some specimens excavated at Marlik.
Lot No. 1452
2
Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
With broad tapering blade and curved edge, wide socket, hammer-face to rear. 1.28 kg, 19.5 cm

Acquired on the UK art market before 2000.
Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman.

With broad curved blade and square chin, narrow neck, deep socket with square-section hammer to the reverse. 899 grams, 15.7 cm

Ex North American collection, 1970s-1990s.

Lot No. 1455
2
Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
Long blade with shallow point and parallel sides, sturdy neck and narrow split socket. 380 grams, 35 cm

From a private Barnsley, UK, family collection.

Exhibited at the Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 11th September-2nd December 2024; accompanied by a copy of a photograph of the artefacts on display.

Lot No. 1456
6
Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Comprising a slender blade with a raised midrib extending towards the short tang, broad rounded shoulders; mounted on a custom-made stand. 420 grams total, blade: 39 cm long

From the private collection of H. Norry, 1980s-1990s.

Cf. Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 2, London, 2004, item 40, p.36.

The Luri people produced a quantity of fine metalwork, which according to Dr. Khorasani, could be due to a settled period which arose as a result of the defeat of the Elamites by the Babylonians, leaving the Luristani people in relative peace for a period of time after 1200 B.C. According to Khorasani 'A culture of innovation and experimentation flourished, and the repertoire of the Luristan smiths expanded in the period between 1150–1050 BC.'
Lot No. 1457
2
Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
Comprising: long, narrow single-edged blade with swept profile and long tip; short, sturdy single-edged blade with applied bronze bolster. 563 grams total, 36-61 cm

From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

Lot No. 1459
3
Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
With foliate blade, rhomboidal in section, raised mid-rib, medium length stem widening at its base and forming a small stop, quadrangular section tang with bent terminal. 191 grams, 45.5 cm

Acquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.

Cf. Gorelik, M., Weapons of Ancient East, IV millennium BC-IV century BC, Saint Petersburg, 2003, in Russian, see pl.XXXIII, no.82, from Tepe Hissar; Gernez, G., L’armament en métal au Proche et Moyen-Orient: des origines a 1750 av. J.C., Paris, 2007, p.301, fig.2.88, subtype L2.B.b.

The specimen belongs to the category of tripartite spears with long pointed biconvex blade and single bevelled tang. They seem to be a Mesopotamian and Susian (Elamite) variant, and this type also includes decorated blades, like the spear from Tello with the inscription 'King of Kish'.
With a curved, beak-shaped blade and two pierced eyes flanking a raised median ridge ellipsoid-section socket; repaired. 147 grams, 10.5 cm

From the private collection of Kenneth Machin (1936-2020), Buckinghamshire, UK; with collection no.BA27; his collection of antiquities and natural history was formed since 1948; thence by descent.

Cf. Gernez, G., L’armament en métal au Proche et Moyen-Orient: des origines a 1750 av. J.C., Paris, 2007, fig.2.42, type H4b.

This axe corresponds to the type H4B of the Gernez classification. Several of these models, with their moulds, are known from the Levant, like those in Byblos, Ras Shamra, and Tell Arqa. On the other hand, a workshop level II of the Kültepe karum delivered two moulds, showing a local production of arms intended either for export or for the inhabitants originating from Mesopotamia or the Levant. This sub-type of eye-axes is characteristic of the Middle Bronze Age 1 (2050-1750 B.C.).
Piriform in profile with vertical socket expanding towards the base. 351 grams, 70 mm

Ex London gentleman's collection, 1990s.

A hollow vessel with cylindrical body, short neck and domed mouth, band of latticework to the shoulder; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 623 grams, 16.5 cm

From a specialist London, UK, arms and armour collection, 1990s.

Cf. Arendt, W. I., Granaten des 13-14. Jahrhunderts, die an der Wolga gefunden sind, Zeitschrift fur Historische Waffen-und Kostumkunde, 11 (1926-8), p.42; cf. Arendt, W., Die Spharisch-konischen Gefäße aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; cf. Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16.

This was a type of ceramic fire grenade, similar to the ones used by the Eastern Romans but of Turco-Mongol type. Apart from the use of manual flame-throwers, special corps of soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations.
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