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LOT 0238
Amarlu Type Bronze Short Sword
LATE 2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
20 7/8 in. (911 grams, 53 cm).
Composed of a massive triangular blade with a slightly raised mid-rib flanked by three parallel rows on each side, the guard formed with a pronounced trident shape, ornamented with small geometric square recesses, the hilt with square-section grip incised with four vertical rows of similar square recesses, double broad crescentic open pommel surmounted by a broad raised median rib which links the double crescentic halves; repaired.
ProvenanceAcquired 1970s-1980s.
From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
Moorey, analysing similar swords found in Amarlu, stated that the blade and tang were made first, forged to shape by hammering at a high temperature. The next step was to cover the tang with a clayed material. Once dry, this material formed the core for the casting. Then a hollow mould of the exact shape of the shoulder, grooved hilt and pommel was made around the clay core covering the tang. Finally, liquid metal was poured into the mould. The weapon was then finished by hammering the pommel and shoulder to the hilt.
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AUCTIONS:
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Luristan Bronze Barbed Arrowhead
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
Formed with a midrib and tapering rectangular-section tang. 31 grams, 15.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
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English Cuirassier Single Bar Burgonet
Circa 1620 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,680
Iron fronted with visor, nasal guard bar and front and back gorget plates, the lifting visor marked with parallel lines; the front and back plates secured with a single hook. 2.25 kg, 34.5 cm high
Acquired on the UK art market. The Kusmirek Collection, UK. 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 search certificate number no. 11766-203985.
During the latter half of the 16th century, the heavy 'knightly' lance gradually fell out of use, possibly because of the widespread adoption of the infantry pike. Also, the lance required a great amount of practice to perfect its use, whilst proficiency in the use of firearms was considerably more easily acquired. The lancer or demi-lancer, when he had abandoned his lance, became the pistol-armed cuirassier or reiter. The adoption of the pistol as the primary weapon led to the development of the stately caracole tactic, where cuirassiers fired their pistols at the enemy, then retired to reload whilst their comrades advanced in turn to maintain firing. Following some initial successes, this tactic proved to be extremely ineffective, as infantry, with superior firearms and numbers, could easily outgun the cuirassiers. The change from cavalry being reliant on firearms, to shock-capable close combat cavalry, reliant mainly on the sword, was attributed to Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in the 1620s and 1630s, but was actually already widely practiced throughout Europe since the invention of pistol-armed heavy cavalrymen in the late 16th century. -
Medieval Bronze Socketted Macehead
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
Comprising four large pyramidal projections, four smaller above and below, ropework detailing; circular shaft hole. 286 grams, 67 mm
Acquired in Munich in the 1970s. From an old German collection.
