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LOT 0237
Assyrian Bronze Relief Fragment
CIRCA 9TH CENTURY B.C.
4 1/4 - 4 3/8 in. (72 grams, 10.8 cm wide (277 grams total, 11 cm high including stand)).
Displaying a corrugated rim above and below; two advancing soldiers, each striding forwards over the headless body of a dead enemy, carrying a severed head in each hand; the soldiers shown bearded and each wearing a pointed and segmented helmet with a recess to accommodate the ears, a cuirass and thigh-length tunic, with a bow over one shoulder and a sword slung from a waist belt; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceEx S. Moussieff collection, London, UK.
Acquired from C.J. Martin (Coins) Ltd.
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 no.203209.
Battle-scenes - and especially images where the Assyrians overrun their enemies and achieve outright victory - appear to make up a large part of 'official' art of the period. Subjecting a defeated foe to torture and death is the theme of much of the wall-decoration of the palace of Nineveh. A battle-scene depicting the siege of a walled city shows similarly equipped infantrymen; it is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, under accession no.55.121.4a, b.
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AUCTIONS:
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Viking Age Iron Bearded Axehead
9th-13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Finno-Ugrian with triangular-section blade widening to a broad bevelled edge with spur to the underside, socket with extended lower sleeve. 779 grams, 17.5 cm
Acquired 1971-1972. From the collection of the vendor's father. Property of a London, UK, collector.
During their struggles against Germans and Teutonic Knights, deceased pagans were often cremated along with damaged or ceremonially sacrificed weaponry. If swords were generally reserved for the military elite, the side axe was one of the most commonly used weapons. -
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.
