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_900x900.jpg "Achaemenid Akinakes with Horse-Head Hilt and Gold Chain")
_200x200.jpg "Achaemenid Akinakes with Horse-Head Hilt and Gold Chain")
_900x900.jpg "Achaemenid Akinakes with Horse-Head Hilt and Gold Chain")
_200x200.jpg "Achaemenid Akinakes with Horse-Head Hilt and Gold Chain")
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LOT 0330
Achaemenid Akinakes with Horse-Head Hilt and Gold Chain
6TH-4TH CENTURY B.C.
14 3/4 in. (14 3/4 in.) (392 grams, 36.5 cm (473 grams total, 37.6 cm high including stand)).
The upper part of the hilt shaped as a horse-head with an applied sheet-gold mane, wearing a gold bridle of Greek typology adorned with rosettes, mouthpiece formed of wire with garnet beads, and a large garnet cabochon set at the front of the bridle; the upper hilt connected to the straight blade with a restored grip; accompanied by a perspex scabbard with original gold sheet attached; possibly a marriage; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenancePrivate collection of a London gentleman, acquired between 1965–2020.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12619-235454.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. for parallels of the horse hilt from a machaira in Metropolitan Museum, inv. no. 2001.346; parallels for the blade in Head, D., The Achaemenid Persian Army, Stockport, 1992, p.28, letters d-e-g-h; for parallels of the muzzle, see the horse harness of Alexander the Great on the statuette of Napoli Archaeological Museum in Sekunda, N., The Army of Alexander the Great, London, 1984, p.35.
FootnotesThe akinakes was the short dagger of the Scythians and the Achaemenid Persians. Many examples of this characteristic weapon have been found in every corner of the Persian Empire. The hilt was often made of bronze, gold or gilded. It is visible in the hands of the Medes and Persians in the reliefs of Persepolis. These weapons, straight and double-edged, were about 35 cm long. The scabbards could be covered with gold, hung from the belt at the waist and, according to Herodotus, attached to the right thigh with a thong.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0330
Achaemenid Akinakes with Horse-Head Hilt and Gold Chain
Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,100
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Hellenistic Bronze Cuirass Section
3rd-1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Possible flank right element of a composite cuirass for a kataphraktos (armoured horseman), part of the edge still preserved on three sides, fastening holes and part of the clasps for attaching the piece to the other parts of armour still visible. 301 grams, 21 cm
UK private collection, acquired in 1996. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
A near complete armour for cataphract was found in a French excavation in Al-Khanoum, a Hellenistic city in Afghanistan. The cavalry of Seleucid, Ptolemaic and other Hellenistic Kingdoms formed regiments of heavy armoured horsemen, who in the west, employed a combination of lamellar and segmented armour together with muscled armour of Greek type. Cataphract armour in the west had more Greek elements, for example more plate armour and less scale and lamellar. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Piriform in profile with narrow point and domed mouth; the body with vertical bands of concentric circles separated by annulets in groups of three. 473 grams, 11.3 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s onwards. Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 15 July 2019 and titled 'Eastern Roman Empire - Greek Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade (μεσαίον kακάβιον) 9th-11th century AD'. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
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. -
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Viking Age Iron Bearded Axehead
11th-13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
With triangular section narrow blade widening to a curved bevelled edge with square chin and butt, D-section socket. 633 grams, 15.5 cm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
