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LOT 1059
Babylonian Bronze Axehead
2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
4 1/8 in. (204 grams, 10.5 cm).
A bronze duck-billed shaft-hole axe head featuring a curved, beak-shaped blade with two pierced eyes and a raised median ridge.
ProvenanceAcquired early 1990s.
Ex private American collection; thence by descent.
Private Swiss collection since 1998.
Cf. Gernez, G., L’armament en métal au Proche et Moyen-Orient: des origines a 1750 av. J.C., Paris, 2007, fig.2.42, type H4b.
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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Viking Age Sword with Three-Lobed Pommel
Early 11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,940
A double-edged cutting sword of Oakeshott Type XII with inlaid hilt and tapering blade with shallow fullers; the lower guard gently curving and decorated with copper inlaid dots, upper guard and three-lobed pommel with similar decoration, traces of silver inlay to the hilt. 720 grams, 90 cm long
Acquired 1971-1972. From the collection of the vendor's father. Property of a London, UK, collector. 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 searcher certificate no.11575-198856.
The sword belongs to the Type XII of the Oakeshott classification (Oakeshott, 1998, pp.37ff.), the characteristics of which are a broad, flat, evenly tapering blade, generally with a good sharp point and tending to widen perceptibly below the hilt. After the publication of the Finnish specimen, Peirce, due to the inlaid inscriptions of this latter, noted a close parallel, both in style and content, with a sword in the Schweizerischen Landesmuseum in Zurich. In the expanded context including the example from Finland, Peirce was able to re-date them to the 11th century. -
Viking Period Socketted Spearhead Group
Circa 8th-10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £663
A group of three short iron spearheads with lentoid-section lanceolate blade, short neck and tapering circular socket with forge-welded split, single hole for attachment pin; remains of wood inside one of the shafts. 578 grams total, 24.5-28.5 cm
Acquired 1971-1972. From the collection of the vendor's father. Property of a London, UK, collector.
The spears belong to the type A of the first main group of Viking spears, the so-called Frankish spearheads, which occur between 750 and 950 A.D., but mainly in the 8th and 9th centuries. The Mediterranean influence is still evident on the foliate shape of the blade. -
Medieval Socketted Catapult Dart
14th-16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
An iron catapult dart formed with a tapering cylindrical socket and rectangular-section neck with barbs, barbed triangular head with full-length medial rib to both faces. 83 grams, 25 cm
Acquired before 2000. From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.
