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LOT 1051
Babylonian Duck-Billed Axehead
2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
4 in. (170 grams, 10 cm).
A bronze duck-billed axehead with a curved, beak-shaped blade, with two pierced eyes and a raised ridge down the centre.
ProvenanceAcquired in the 1990s.
Ex Paris Gallery.
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.
FootnotesThis axe corresponds to the type H4B of the Gernez classification. Several of these models, with their moulds, are known from the Levant, like those in Byblos, Ras Shamra, and Tell Arqa. On the other hand, a workshop level II of the Kültepe karum delivered two moulds, showing a local production of arms intended either for export or for the inhabitants originating from Mesopotamia or the Levant. This sub-type of eye-axes is characteristic of the Middle Bronze Age 1 (2050-1750 B.C.).
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AUCTIONS:
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Luristan Socketted Axe-Adze
13th-7th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £121
A substantial copper-alloy adze-axe head composed of a cylindrical socket, one blade at a right angle to the socket with tapering sides and D-section cutting edge; one blade upright with convex cutting edge. 559 grams, 16.5 cm
Fine condition.
Acquired in the 1980s. London, UK, private collection. Property of an Essex gentleman. -
African Yaka Sword with Scabbard
19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
An iron sword with leaf-shaped blade decorated with a simple punched line punched and zig-zag ornament; the hilt partially covered with leather with stitched junctions, twisted iron wire 'cage' and elongated iron pommel; accompanied by a fragmentary wooden leather-covered sheath with spatulate end. 684 grams, 70 cm long
Acquired locally by donation. Property of Sense Charity, Cambridgeshire, UK.
The Yaka are an African ethnic group found in the south-west of the DRC, with the Angolan border to their west. The Yaka people were historically known for their excellent diplomatic and military abilities which enabled them to found the Yaka kingdom in the 17th century. One of their distinctive weapons was a long, straight sabre which developed into an increasingly elaborate style during the 19th and 20th centuries A.D. -
Marlik Decorated Spearhead
14th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £330
A bronze spearhead with projecting midribs, long folded socket, decorated by concentric horizontal lines at the base and beneath the blade, horizontal triangles and vertical grooves along the shaft; triangular blade with round shoulders, ornamented by vertical lines running parallel to the midrib; pair of holes on the lower part of the shaft for attachment to a wooden haft. 562 grams, 55 cm
Fine condition.
Ex important Japanese collection, 1970s-2010.
The spearhead, cast in one piece, belongs to the type VIII, subtype B (triangular blade) of the Khorasani classification. Similar spearheads were excavated by Dr Negahban in the Marlik necropolis (tomb 1, trench III D) and are preserved in the National Museum of Iran, Teheran.
