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LOT 1072
Elamite Ceremonial Axe with Silver Sleeve
3RD-2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
18 in. (750 grams, 45.5 cm).
With later sheet-silver sleeve to the shaft, attached with ball-headed rivets; gilt dome finial to each end, the lower one in a gusseted collar.
ProvenanceAcquired in 1996.
Ex Samad Khameneh collection.
Private Swiss collection.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11647-199005.
Cf. similar axehead in the British Museum, item no. 128617; cf. for the type Maxwell-Hyslop, R., ‘Western Asiatic Shaft-Hole Axes’ in Iraq, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Spring, 1949), pp.90-129, pl.XXXIV, fig.4b.
FootnotesThe axe belongs typologically to Type 4 of Maxwell-Hyslop’s classification, with a long and thin shaft narrowing towards the base.
When technical developments resulted in heavier axe-blades, it was necessary to prolong the socket into a shaft tube and to cut away the underside of the blade where it joined the shaft. The edge of the blade was curved and this shifted the point of impact of the cutting edge.
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LOT 1072
Elamite Ceremonial Axe with Silver Sleeve
Estimate £12,000 - 17,000€13,920 - 19,720 (for guidance only)$16,200 - 22,950 (for guidance only)
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Bactrian Bronze Eye Axehead
3rd-2d millennium B.C.Estimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £200
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. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Dagger Blade
Early 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
With a narrow tapering blade, slightly enlarged in the guard area and narrowing again towards the 'ear' pommel. 61 grams, 33 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
The techniques used by Luristan craftsmen to create bronze weapons were highly sophisticated. They used a wide variety of surface finishes: repoussé work, chasing and engraving. The fact that the mountains of Luristan were particularly rich in copper and tin, both required for making bronze, was a significant advantage to the metalworking industry. The weapons produced developed into a plethora of different forms in the 2nd millennium B.C. to at least 800 B.C. These objects include axes and adzes, pick axes, daggers and dirks, spears, swords, helmets and shields. Weapons were usually cast, but armour parts were also made by the hammering process. -
Luristan Bronze Short Sword
Circa 1000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
The blade with a tapering profile, triangular in overall form, with slender shoulders, penannular guard with strong midrib, flanged hilt with crenellated grip, widening slightly into a fan-shaped pommel, cracked. 421 grams, 42 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
These types of short sword or dirks were usually cast in one piece, and the penannular rib in relief was cast on at the same time with the handle of the blade. In some cases, however, the penannular rib was later cast on the dagger, possibly to strengthen a weak point at the junction of hilt and blade. The flanged hilt was originally inlaid with organic material such as bone.
