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LOT 1175
Chinese Style Bronze Ceremonial Halberd Sceptre Head
20TH CENTURY A.D.
11 in. (293 grams, 28 cm).
The leaf-shaped head displaying sinuous openwork animals on either side, rectangular collar with etched ornament, possibly a nameplate, repeated on both faces, a feline to one side and a flat-section arrow to the other, tubular socket below. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired in Germany.
Property of RWM Collection.
During the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.), Chinese warfare evolved. Kings and princes were replaced on the battlefield by infantries lead by military generals. New arms and armour were invented, including the halberd and crossbow. This sceptre head has a spearhead finial that features an openwork motif that is both decorative as well as functional, since it decreases the weight of the bronze, making the spear cheaper to produce and lighter to use.
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AUCTIONS:
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Elizabethan and Later 'Essex' Bronze Petronel Collection
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Exhibiting a range of petronel types, including example with ring-and-dot detailing. 106 grams total, 4.8-12 cm
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Viking Iron Sword with Cross Guard Surmounted by Interlaced Dragons
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £8,450
Comprising a double-edged cutting blade with tapering fullers and hefty tang; the bronze cross guard in Jellinge style with dragon head finials and a central human face to the lower edge; the pommel with seven lobes; accompanied by a bronze openwork chape with central bird motif decorated with stamped ring-and-dot design. 900 grams, 89.5 cm
From 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.11821-206859.
The blade of the sword is very similar to Petersen Type K; the hilt is a typical Type K, but having seven rather than five lobes to the pommel. The chape, the parallels of which are mostly of late 10th and early 11th centuries, is probably a later addition, possibly reworked to be fitted to the sword. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Axehead
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
With central socket and shaft; cutting blade set vertically at a right-angle; the short pick-adze blade arranged horizontally. 1.3 kg, 26 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
The earliest axe-adzes from the 3rd millennium B.C. were weapons and tools furnished with socket holes. Usually a socket was a more secure way of attaching the object to a wooden haft than having a tang. These weapons developed into a plethora of different forms in the 2nd millennium B.C., and the numerous new forms and were used until at least 800 B.C.