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LOT 1276
Bronze Age Rapier or Short Sword Blade
11TH-9TH CENTURY B.C.
12 3/8 in. (223 grams, 31.5 cm).
With ogival sides, a raised mid-rib and lozenge-shaped shoulders, remains of the tang with a hole for the insertion of the fastening rivet. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired in the late 19th century.
Ex private collection, Liverpool, UK.
Helios Gallery Antiquities, Wiltshire, UK.
Private collection, Preston, UK.
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Helios Gallery no.H3163r.
Cf. British Museum accession no.1890,1113.6, for one of the swords from Charenton Hoard, France; see also Gagnière, S.,Germand, L., Granier, I., Les Armes et les outils protostoriques en bronze du Musée Calvet D'Avignon, Avignon, 1963, no.37, for a similar blade.
FootnotesThe top of the sword is missing, and the shape of the blade resembles that of swords of the late European Bronze Age, but the particular shape of the central groove of the blade, which forms a three-quarter median rib before tapering towards the point, could lead one to believe that the sword was of the antennal type with median rib, like the sword from Central Italy preserved in the Calvet Museum, Avignon.
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Bronze Age Shield Type Palstave Axehead
2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Rectangular recesses to both faces of the head, tapering towards the butt, roughly wedge-shaped cheeks with gently scooped upper and lower edges, chamfered convex cutting edge, distinct ribbed shield-shaped recess at the junction of neck and head. 390 grams, 15.3 cm
Found Nottinghamshire, UK. -
Bronze Age Central European Axehead
Circa 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £94
Featuring an elliptical socket and wedge-shaped cheeks. 954 grams, 17.5 cm
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection. -
'The Braintree' Bronze Age Axehead and Foundry 'Carp's Tongue/Ewart Phase' Hoard
Deposited circa 900-800 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,380
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). 5.20 kg total, 2-11 cm
Found 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 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.
