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LOT 1348
Anglo-Saxon Iron Socketted Spearhead
5TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.
10 1/4 in. (190 grams, 26 cm).
Lentoid-section leaf-shaped blade with slender neck and long closed socket; Swanton's Group D1. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFound near Wetwang, East Yorkshire, UK.
Acquired circa 2005.
Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK.
Cf. Swanton, M.J. Spearheads of the Anglo-Saxon Settlements, London, 1973, fig.18(d).
FootnotesA small number of leaf-shaped blades measuring between some 16 and 28 cm in length are similar to the smaller leaf-shaped pieces of the Swanton series C, except that they tend to be more slender overall. The socket is always narrowly split up its entire length.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Medieval Lozenge-Shaped Iron Arrowhead
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Lanceolate in profile with split socket. 16.8 grams, 99 mm
Acquired prior to 2000. Ex Private collection, Cambridgeshire, UK. Property of a Kent lady collector. -
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Migration Period Iron Sword with Rock Crystal, Gold and Garnet Sword Bead
5th-6th century A.D.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £600
Comprising a double-edged blade with pointed tip, battle nicks to both cutting edges; short bronze guard and a long tang; accompanied by a facetted rock crystal hilt pendant with a granulated gold mount above, set with a garnet cabochon; Eastern Roman or Alano-Gothic. 750 grams, 4-91.5 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.12041-216428.
A characteristic type of the Migration period, originally used by nomadic people such as the Alans and Sarmatians. An important element of these swords was the presence (in tombs) of amber or rock crystal fittings, which some authors have identified being part of the pommel (Zasetskaya), and others as pendants hanging from the hilt of the sword. Interestingly the sword of grave 9 from the Necropolis of Novohryhorivka is decorated with a similar pendant, made of amber and fitted with a silver mount decorated with a filigree border. -
Turco-Mongol 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
14th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
Piriform body with radiating vertical lugs to the shoulder and decorated panels between, tiered neck, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 977 grams, 20 cm
From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 1990s onwards.
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.
