Carolingian Iron Spur with Silver Studs

Comprising: axehead with sturdy square-section neck, T-shaped blade, hammer-face to rear of the socket; barbed spearhead with split socket; long single-edged knife with stub tang. 1.37 kg total, 16.5-43 cm



From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.

Comprising a pair of ram-shaped cheek-pieces with a hole through the body for the straight mouthpiece with looped terminals. 690 grams, 17.5 cm wide



From a collection formed in Paris in the 1990s.

The horse bits were transformed by Luristan people in to expressions of applied art. Metalworkers employed animal motifs, both realistic and imaginary, for their cheek-pieces. The question of whether these horse bits were for real use or only for use in a funerary context is superfluous, as signs of wear have been documented, and the goads and loops on interiors are functionally designed. The use of such horse bits is clearly documented in Assyrian reliefs of the time of Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.).

Curved with a thick double edge blade, handle composed of wood and iron, ornately decorated with lozenges, fastened by eight iron flat-headed rivets. 118 grams, 32 cm long

Fine condition.

Private family collection formed in London, mid 1980s to early 1990s.

Among the various Arab dagger groups, the one from North Africa is characterised by rather fine blades made in the Turkish-Persian style. Usually the handles (in wood, ivory and metal) feature a large rounded pommel in the guise of peacock feathers. This type is common in Morocco, Tunisia and all the way to Egypt, and is a type of Khandjar usually called Koummiya or Goummiya (a term later adopted in Spanish as Goumia, to indicate all the short Arab daggers).