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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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Heelband with geometric motifs, channelling and lozengiform terminals, pierced work neck and large free-running rowel. 252 grams, 22 cm
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Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
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With a piriform body and domed mouth, stepped rings to the foot, engraved decoration on the shoulders with crosses and grapes; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 573 grams, 15 cm
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Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. Such were the γανωτα, vessels (sometimes also in bronze) used for Greek fire. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form. -
Luristan Bronze Sword Blade
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Comprising a narrow leaf-shaped blade with midrib and lateral channels, rounded shoulders, short tang with attachment hole. 445 grams, 45.5 cm
Ex German collection, Cologne, formed 1980s-1990. The Kusmirek Collection, UK.
The metalworking techniques used in making bronze weapons in early Iran were very complex. Surfaces were often finished in repoussé work, and some of the weapons were chased, others engraved. The function of the ridges here was not only decorative, however, but principally to reduce suction and thus allow the blade to be withdrawn speedily. The ruling elites of warrior horsemen were buried in the graves with their weapons and horses which are the main sources of the Luristan and North-Western bronze weapons.
