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LOT 1100
Bactrian Bronze Ceremonial Claw Mace
2ND-1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
5 1/2 in. (237 grams, 14 cm).
Egg-shaped with spiked sleeves or prongs, the top of the weapon with narrow edge, the sleeves with small internal tangs for mounting.
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
The 'claw mace' was an enigmatic ancient bronze weapon from the Bronze Age Near East. The hollow bulbous head was trailed by tines of varying lengths. It is believed that it was affixed over a wooden shaft and used like a club in combat, and not necessarily used as ceremonial weapon. The knife edge bulb end could have broken bones and proven to be a formidable striking weapon requiring no skill to wield. The tines would have not only been decorative, but have served to add strength below the striking end to prevent breakage. In battle, maces were often used by commanders to display rank when giving orders in battle and leading soldiers, inspiring leadership and power.
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AUCTIONS:
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Luristan Sar-e Gorz Luristan Bronze Macehead
14th-13th century B.C.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £111
With plain globular body, extended to a small raised ring encircling the top of the mace-head, circular short shaft expanding to a circular flat base. 279 grams, 70 mm high
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
Caucasian stone and bronze maces were distinguished by modestly finished, clean processed and predominantly close-to-ball shapes (with a variety of surface finishing, ranging from the smooth, ribbed, lobular forms to the rounded with protrusions and spikes), and the Western Iranian maces, especially the Luristan ones, notable for the variety of different forms. Similar mace-heads, probably realised in Luristan, decorated the head of the sceptres of Assyrian kings like Tukulti-Ninurta I (1243-1207 B.C.). -
Roman Praetorian Guard Terracotta Sling Shot with Scorpion
1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Lentoid section with a raised 'keel' to one end, depicting a stylised scorpion. 25.75 grams, 43 mm
Ex Simmons Gallery, London E11, UK, in the 1990s. From a North London collection.
The sling (funda) with its lead (plumbea pondera) and stone missiles was used by special funditores, illustrated on Trajan’s Column where they are dressed in broad tunics with no armour, but carry a shield. Interestingly, this glans has the emblem usually associated with the Praetorian Guard - the scorpion. It was an emblem also used in Ptolemaic Egypt, and it is not impossible that this bullet could be Ptolemaic or Romano-Egyptian. We believe this bullet could be associated with the Praetorian regiments which means this could be one of the first pieces of evidence for their use. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Leaf-Shaped Spearhead
Early 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £546
Having ovate blade with central rib and slender shoulders, cylindrical short shaft marked by circular grooves broading towards the end, encasing a rectangular tang with a bent end. 134 grams, 23.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
In the 3rd millennium until the first half of the 2nd millennium in the Near and Middle East, in India, the Caucasus and Central Asia, a stalked tip was used for the spear heads, and this model developed in Mesopotamia in the middle of the 3rd millennium B.C. The main types were with a facetted blade on a volumetric pin and a leaf-shaped blade on a flat handle with holes for rivets. The same models spread almost unchanged to the Caucasus, Anatolia and Bactria.
