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LOT 0275
'The Braintree' Bronze Age Axehead and Foundry 'Carp's Tongue/Ewart Phase' Hoard
DEPOSITED CIRCA 900-800 B.C.
7/8 - 4 3/8 in. (5.20 kg total, 2-11 cm).
Being an entire 'founder' hoard deposit comprising: complete socketted axes (6; three with linear ornament to sockets); fragments of socketted and earlier type palstave axes (18, including two that fit together); fragments of other items (4) and pieces of copper 'bun' ingot (8). [36]
ProvenanceFound whilst searching with a metal detector in Braintree, Essex, UK, on 14th August 2019.
Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.BM-C514EA and with a copy of the Harwich Museum loan form.
Disclaimed under the Treasure Act with reference number 2019 T731.
The British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), reference BM-C514EA (this find).
Exhibited at Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 29th June-4th September 2023.
See Pendleton, Colin F., Bronze Age Metalwork in Northern East Anglia, BAR British Series 279, 1999, for much information on similar pieces found in East Anglia; see also Evans, John, The Ancient Bronze Implements, Weapons and Ornaments of Great Britain and Ireland, London, 1881.
FootnotesThe composition of this hoard is quite typical of similar deposits found across south-eastern England and dating to the Late Bronze Age; most such finds include broken fragments together with pieces of ingot and some complete items, as seen here. It is unusual to see an entire deposit offered together as most such are either held in museums or have been divided up.
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LOT 0275
'The Braintree' Bronze Age Axehead and Foundry 'Carp's Tongue/Ewart Phase' Hoard
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,380
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Bronze Age Sacrificed British Long Sword
1500-1100 B.C.Estimate: £5,000 - 7,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,500
Bronze sword or rapier with gently tapering cutting edges, thick midrib with lateral beading for most of the blade's length; flared plate to the hilt with two holes at the end to accept attachment rivets; substantially complete; mounted on a custom-made stand. 918 grams total, 57 cm high including stand
Reputedly found in the River Blackwater, Bradwell, Essex. with Christie's, South Kensington, 13 May 2003, lot 259. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11881-207821.
In the terminology of Bronze Age studies, a weapon of this type less than 30 cm in length is called a 'dirk' and beyond that length it is classified as a 'rapier'. The longer examples are sometimes considered to have been impractical for use as weapons due to the limitations of the casting process making the blade brittle; however, the evidence for repairs and modifications indicates that they were frequently retained in active use for some time. -
Bronze Age Coiled Bracelet Pair
8th-6th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Each of small penannular form with a raised medial rib to the elliptical face, tapering to coiled terminals with lozengiform cross-section. 72 grams total, 56-58 mm wide
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. -
European Bronze Age Leaf-Shaped Spearhead
Circa 1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £150
With leaf-shaped oval blade, thick short midrib, short shaft with fastening holes and circumferential ring for the opening. 242 grams, 23.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
This type of lanceolate spearhead is very common across the Balkans and the Carpathian basin. It originates from Hungary or possibly the Czech Republic.
