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LOT 1399
Elamite Bronze Macehead
2ND-1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
2 3/8 in. (205 grams, 61 mm).
Hollow-formed with a collared socket; two rows of tear-shaped bosses to the bulbous body. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Iron Ferrules and Javelin Head Group
3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Comprising: square-section missile head with short neck; conical ferrule with square-section finial; conical ferrule socket with long square-section finial. 64 grams total, 8.2-12.8 cm
Found S.E. England, UK. Acquired from Allan Cherry, Bournemouth, UK, circa 2004. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK.
The usual form of the butt of the spears in this period was a cone shape, sometimes split down one side, but more often forged into a complete circle. The butt was fastened to the wooden shaft by one or more rivets. The butt or ferrule of the Roman spears essentially had two functions. Firstly it acted as a counterweight to the blade of the spear/javelin, ensuring that the weapon was balanced and therefore effective. Secondly, it kept the wooden shaft out of contact with the ground if the spear was grounded and thus avoiding damage to it. -
Bactrian Bronze Eye Axehead
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
Fan-shaped blade; an apotropaic eye in relief to each side of the socket; wing-shaped extension to the rear. 327 grams, 16 cm
From an old London, UK, collection. Ex London, UK, gallery.
Most of these axes are believed to have originated in Bactria, but some objects come from well documented contexts in Margiane (Gonur), Lut (Shahdad) and Kermanshah (Khinaman). According to Gernez they were made for ceremonial use. -
Viking Peterson Type X Sword with Inlaid Hilt
Circa 10th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,900
With pattern-welded double-edged blade, showing well-defined shallow fullers and wide cutting edges, the fullers occupying not less than one third of the entire width and running to a point about 19 cm from the tip; massive, simply decorated hilt; the pommel, as well as the cross-guard, with visible zig-zag patterns; the pommel of solid tea-cosy type, divided into two sections by a well marked groove, the bottom being the larger, the curved top portion of the pommel further divided into three lobes; traces of inlay visible on the pommel and on the cross-guard. 1.25 kg, 94 cm
Acquired on the European art market in the 1990s. From the property of a Suffolk collector.
The blade shows in its central section, and on both cutting edges, the blodiձa style pattern-welding through the central portion of the blade (Oakeshott, 1960, fig.70). The fine pattern-welded blade patterns of Viking swords are the blodiձa (Blood-Eddy) and 'ann' (rows of mown hay) known from Norse poetry.
