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LOT 0261
Caucasian Bronze Hilted Iron Sword
IRON AGE, 8TH-6TH CENTURY B.C.
30 3/4 in. (2.2 kg total, 78 cm including stand).
A broad sword with tapering blade and rounded shoulders, bronze hilt with crescentic pommel and apotropaic eye motifs to both sides; accompanied by bronze scabbard or baldric elements including a pair of eyelets with suspension loops, four circular appliqués with conical tips and ropework borders, and a scabbard chape with two opposing ibexes; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12914-245170.
Cf. Voronov, Yu. N., ‘Weapons of the Ancient Abkhaz Tribes in the 6th-1st Centuries BC’ in Скифский мир., Киев, 1975, pp.218-234, fig.4, no.1, for a similar blade; Gorelik, M.,Weapons of Ancient East, IV millennium BC-IV century BC, Saint Petersburg (2003) in Russian, pl. VI, no.65.
FootnotesThe sword belongs to the Caucasian culture of the Colchis, and represents a very rare typology. A similar blade was found together with early Scythian arrows during excavations at Karmir-Blur. A similar combination found at Kulanurkhva’s excavations suggests that the appearance of such blades in Abkhazia is linked to the Scythian campaigns in Near Eastern Asia.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0261
Caucasian Bronze Hilted Iron Sword
Estimate £4,000 - 6,000€4,640 - 6,960 (for guidance only)$5,400 - 8,100 (for guidance only)
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Indo-Persian Enamelled Brass Shield Pair
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Each with flange rim and four applied bosses to the face for attachment of the rear straps, design of reserved foliage, birds and harpies on an enamelled field. 996 grams total, 27.3 cm
Property of a Berkshire, UK, gentleman collector. -
Luristan Bronze Spearhead
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
With double-edged blade, lozenge-sectioned shank developing from a broad central midrib, and flared neck above a tapering square-sectioned tang. 370 grams, 42.7 cm
Property of a London gentleman; acquired London art market, 2000s. -
Germanic Iron Socketted Javelin Head
Circa 5th-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £247
Long shaft tapering towards a triangular blade with strong mid-rib and squared shoulders; professionally cleaned, conserved, and restored. 210 grams, 40.7 cm
Cleaned, conserved and restored.
From the family collection of a South East London collector; formerly acquired in the late 1950s.
The total length of these javelins, including iron heads, shanks and wooden shafts, was probably about 210cm. The design was, obviously, intended to kill or cripple efficiently. The length of the shaft suggest that these javelins, including the infamous angon, were used also in hand to hand combat, where there was a danger of the head being lopped off.
