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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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Indian Quatar Iron Dagger
18th-19th century A.D.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £500
Comprising a broad blade tapering to an armour-piercing point, the steel side bars and balustered grips decorated with copper Koftgari work flowers and scrolls. 488 grams, 48 cm
General condition very good.
Property of a London gallery.
Unique to South Asia, the quatar or katar was a dagger that held at the crossbars with a clenched fist. The weapon was meant to be thrust into the opponent or prey from a close range. Rajput and Mughal royalty used this weapon to hunt tigers and even crocodiles to demonstrate their bravery and martial skill. -
Luristan Bronze Arrowhead
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £150 - 200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £80
The group comprising various types of tanged arrowheads, including barbed and leaf-shaped examples. 175 grams total, 8.1-10.5 cm
Acquired 1990s. From the collection of a late Japanese weaponry collector. -
Luristan Bronze Sword Blade
1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £60
Comprising a narrow leaf-shaped blade with midrib and lateral channels, rounded shoulders, short tang with attachment hole. 445 grams, 45.5 cm
Ex German collection, Cologne, formed 1980s-1990. The Kusmirek Collection, UK.
The metalworking techniques used in making bronze weapons in early Iran were very complex. Surfaces were often finished in repoussé work, and some of the weapons were chased, others engraved. The function of the ridges here was not only decorative, however, but principally to reduce suction and thus allow the blade to be withdrawn speedily. The ruling elites of warrior horsemen were buried in the graves with their weapons and horses which are the main sources of the Luristan and North-Western bronze weapons.
