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LOT 1540
Byzantine Iron Horse Bit
14TH-15TH CENTURY A.D.
7 3/4 in. (340 grams, 19.5 cm).
Composed of arched openwork shanks with looped terminals; one end fitted with large hoops and bar between; one end with a tripartite mouthpiece comprising two collared bars connected by a central hoop; Byzantine or early Ottoman.
ProvenanceCollection of Dr Hanns-Ulrich Haedeke (1928-2017), author of ‘Schmuck Aus Drei Jahrtausenden’ and who became the director of the Museum of Klingenmuseum in Solingen, Germany, in 1968; the collection was formed in the early 1960s.
From an important private Dutch collection.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
See Витлянов, С., Старобългарското въоъжение (The Old Bulgarian Armament), София, 1996, fig.1, pl.XXIV, and fig.5, for an identical example.
FootnotesThis type of horse bit is visible on one of the most important equestrian artworks of the 15th century - the Cappella dei Magi by Benozzo Gozzoli, a painting representing the Three Kings visiting Christ, depicted in costumes belonging to the early quarter of the 15th century. All the cavalrymen in the artwork had heavy curb-bits (with short and curved shanks, as in our specimen) and heavy, single reins.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Group
13th-6th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
Including leaf-shaped, triangular and other tanged types. 370 grams total, 9.6-19 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
A large piriform missile with domed filler-hole, a band of impressed annulets to the shoulder and circumferential bands to the lowed body, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 957 grams, 15.2 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s onwards. Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 15 July 2019 and titled 'Eastern Roman Empire - Greek Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade (μεσαίον kακάβιον) 9th-11th century AD'. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Cf. Arendt, W. I., Granaten des 13-14. Jahrhunderts, die an der Wolga gefunden sind, Zeitschrift fur Historische Waffen-und Kostumkunde, 11 (1926-8), p.42; cf. Arendt, W., Die Spharisch-konischen Gefäße aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; cf. Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16. Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form. -
Luristan Bronze Spearhead Group
13th-11th century B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Comprising a tanged spearhead with heavily ridged and tapered blade, short collared shaft and square-section tapered tang bent at the tip; a spearhead with foliate narrow blade, short tang with fastening hole. 300 grams total, 26.2-28.7 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Both types of spearheads were found in Amlash and Marlik, and are connected with the types 1 and 2 of the Khorasani classification. The type 1 is characterised by a bent tang and was the evolution of a typology which began much earlier in Mesopotamia and the fertile crescent, the type 4 of the Stronach classification, with straight square-section tang, usually thickened at the base with a button tang.
