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LOT 1197
Burmese Iron Single-Edged Sword with Scabbard
19TH CENTURY A.D. OR EARLIER
35 7/8 in. (886 grams, 91 cm long).
Comprising a smooth, slightly curved and unornamented blade, the hilt wrapped with organic plaited and plain string; tubular bamboo(?) scabbard wrapped with plaited string. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx Reeman Dansie, Colchester, Essex, UK.
LiteratureCf. similar specimen in the Metropolitan Museum of Arts, accession number 36.25.1437a,b.
FootnotesThe dha may have its origins with the Tai people who migrated to the area from present-day Yunnan Province in southern China. This sabre varied considerably according to locality but they shared some features that define them apart from other weapons and tools of the area, like the round cross-section grip, a long, gently curving blade with a single edge, and the absence of a guard.
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AUCTIONS:
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Vietnam M1 Helmet
1950-1970 A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £150
American Vietnam War era helmet with composition liner with leather lining; leather and fabric chin strap; ace over 1 painted to one side in white. 1.5 kg, 28.5 cm wide
The Kusmirek Collection, UK. -
Massive Late European Bronze Age Finely Ribbed Socketted Spearhead
Circa 10th century B.C.Estimate: £800 - 1,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £400
Formed with an elongated leaf-shaped blade, the socket extending into the blade in the form of a tapered mid-rib with decorative raised central grooves. 449 grams, 45 cm
Acquired from John Cummings, UK, in 1988. Ex Lord Alistair McAlpine collection.
This spear seems to have parallels to those found in the tombs of the 'sword bearers' of central-southern Europe, an aristocratic class of the Urn Fields civilisation who had its last period of splendour between 10th-9th centuries B.C. The weapons were deposited with various objects inside incineration graves, but the spears were often ritually damaged (see tomb 5 of the necropolis of Pontenuovo di Gazzo Veronese, broken into three parts). Our spear, in the upper part, seems to show traces of oxidation due to the fire of the funeral pyre, and probably came from a tomb. -
Avar-Byzantine Silver-Gilt Sword Belt Mount Group
7th-9th century A.D.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £89
Comprising three belt mounts later remounted onto brown leather comprising: a rectangular strap end with rounded terminal, decorated with granulated borders, lozenges and chevrons; two roughly D-shaped mounts with apex flourish and waisted sides, also decorated with granulated lozenges and chevrons. 26.5 grams, 12.2 cm long
Fine condition.
Acquired in the 1980s-1990s. Ex an important central London gallery, London W1.
This type of belt element decorated with granulation, is present in the Avar graves of the second half of the 7th century, and was most likely produced in the workshops of the Eastern Roman Empire, from where they reached the Avar lands as imperial gifts (tomb of Kunbàboni) or spoils of war. They were part of multiple belts, to which sabers and knives were attached, commonly used among Avars, Bulgars and Romans during the 7th and 8th centuries AD.
