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LOT 0252
Cuman Silver Military Sceptre
12TH-13TH CENTURY A.D.
22 in. (353 grams, 56 cm).
Comprising a slender tapering body in graduated gilded sheet-silver sleeves with rolled rims; at base, a bronze ferrule with a squared finial; at top, a mushroom-shaped boss with lateral attachment rivet; restored.
ProvenancePrivate collection, UK.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13377-259199.
See Stephenson, P. Byzantium's Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900–1204, Cambridge, 2000, for an overview of the Cumans and their neighbours in eastern Europe in the High Middle Ages.
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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LOT 0252
Cuman Silver Military Sceptre
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000€17,400 - 23,200 (for guidance only)$20,250 - 27,000 (for guidance only)
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Bactrian Bronze Claw Axehead
3rd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Egg-shaped with spiked prongs to the socket, narrow, rounded cutting edge. 165 grams, 11.9 cm
From a UK collection formed in the 1980s. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman.
The 'claw mace' was an enigmatic ancient bronze weapon from the Bronze Age Near East. The hollow bulbous head was trailed by tines of varying lengths. It is believed that it was affixed over a wooden shaft and used like a club in combat, and not necessarily used as a ceremonial weapon. The knife-edge bulb end could have broken bones and proven to be a formidable striking weapon requiring no skill to wield. The tines would have not only been decorative, but would have served to add strength below the striking end to prevent breakage. In battle, maces were often used by commanders to display rank when giving orders in battle and leading soldiers, inspiring leadership and power. Egg-shaped with spiked sleeves or prongs, the top of the weapon has a narrow edge, and the sleeves have small internal tangs for mounting. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Collection
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Comprising fourteen tanged arraoheads, mostly barbed types. 232 grams total, 6.1-16 cm
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
Squat body with domed filler-hole; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 413 grams, 94 mm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s. 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'.
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.
