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LOT 0279
Bronze Age Sacrificed British Long Sword
1500-1100 B.C.
22 1/2 in. (918 grams total, 57 cm high including stand).
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.
ProvenanceReputedly 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.
See Trump, B.A.V., The Origin and Development of British Middle Bronze Age Rapiers, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, Vol. XXVIII, 1962.
FootnotesIn 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.
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LOT 0279
Bronze Age Sacrificed British Long Sword
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000€5,800 - 8,120 (for guidance only)$6,750 - 9,450 (for guidance only)
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'The Stainmore' Bronze Age Flat Axe with Exceptional Crystalline Patina
2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,380
Composed of a fan-shaped head with bevelled face and convex cutting edge, flanges creating two elliptical side faces. 424 grams, 15.5 cm
Found whilst searching with a metal detector in Stainmore, Cumbria, UK, in 2012. Ex private U.K. collection. -
Huge Bronze Age Spiral Brooch
850-750 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,200
Formed as four coils of rod radiating around a central disc with pointillé decoration; substantial pin and catch to the reverse; mounted on a custom-made stand. 567 grams total, 23 cm high including stand
From the collection of Dr. Peter W. Biertz (1914-2000), Wolsfeld, Germany, by August 1990. Recorded in a letter from Dr Hans Nortmann, Rhein, Landesmuseum Trier, 8 August 1990. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11880-207712. -
Bronze Age Pancake Ingot Fragment Group
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Comprising four pieces of copper 'bun' ingot, two showing characteristic edge cross-section. 556 grams total, 28-58 mm
UK gallery, early 2000s.
These bun ingots were cast in shallow saucer depressions cut into rock where the copper ore was mined and smelted; they were then carried and traded across Europe before being broken up, melted down and having tin added to form bronze alloy; fragments such as these are frequently found as part of smith's hoards of, usually, worn out tools, weapons and raw material from the Late Bronze Age.
