Ancient Art, Antiquities, Books, Natural History & Coins

Conical body with narrow foot, piecrust decoration below the rim with small raised ledges. 2.37 kg, 27 cm wide



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

Shallow body with a rounded base and thickened rim. 350 grams, 16.5 cm



Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.

Carved as a reclining bull with erect head, underside engraved with a winged quadruped. 2.67 grams, 21 mm



From the collection of Dr U.O., Zurich, acquired in the 1950s. with Rhea Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland.

Narrow tubular body with rounded bottom, narrow shoulder, flared neck; dragged 'feather' ornament to the iridescent surface; mounted on a custom-made stand. 274 grams, 10.5 cm



From a London, UK, collection of glass, 1970-2000s.

A shallow oil lamp with an open body and a pinched spout. 90 grams, 89 mm



From the collection of a Yorkshire, UK gentleman, items collected in the Holy Land in the 1960s.

Frieze with bird in flight above a crouching quadruped, among trees; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 0.68 grams, 13.97 mm



From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.

With a short socketted shaft, the plain rectangular blade broadening towards the cutting edge; side holes on the shaft. 446 grams, 11.4 cm



Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.

Unadorned weapons, especially axes, adzes, and picks, were made by Luristan craftsmen using simple clay or stone bivalve moulds, into which a core was inserted to form the socket for the shaft. Typically, the metallic composition consisted of a combination of arsenical bronze and copper, together with a small percentage of lead.

With a foliate blade, rhomboidal in section, raised mid-rib, medium-length stem widening at its base and forming a small stop, rectangular-section tang with bent terminal. 194 grams, 46 cm



Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.

The specimen belongs to the category of tripartite spears with a long, pointed biconvex blade and a 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 curved flaring cutting edge, characteristic curving shape and narrow socket, blade end squaring off, shaft hole pierced on both sides. 227 grams, 10.6 cm



Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s.

These collared axes have the specific feature of being equipped with variously shaped rear extensions. The provenance of this typology is clearer than others: these axes came from Margiana and southern Bactria. Gonur Depe and Susa yielded a rather atypical and probably imported example. P. Amiet suggests that they were an adoption of Elamite material, from conceptual and institutional models. They would have developed from the end of the 3rd and the beginning of the 2nd millennium B.C.

With a broad, flaring triangular-section blade extending to a curved edge with carination to its rear, pointed extension to the reverse of the socket; the blade decorated with openwork floral and vegetal patterns; mounted on a wooden shaft. 1.75 kg, 140.5 cm



Acquired from Lyon & Turnbull, UK, in 2013. From a large West London collection formed from the 1990s.

This is a war weapon issued to infantry, intended for use against cavalry. The distinctive openwork blade suggests it was a standard-issue weapon, not for an occasional use.

With an ovate blade, prominent central rib and rounded shoulders, square-section shaft with flared lateral spurs forming a collar, rectangular tang with narrow tip. 347 grams, 29.6 cm



Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.

Piriform in profile with a domed mouth and a stepped neck, incised decoration; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 406 grams, 15 cm



From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s.

Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια, where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.