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LOT 0290
Elamite Copper Axehead with 'Animal' Face
LATE 3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.
3 in. (206 grams, 78 mm).
Plain cylindrical shaft, bulbous towards the top with an incised animal face to the rear of the shaft, the blade with a convex cutting edge.
Provenancewith a London, UK gallery, 1971-early 2000s.
LiteratureCf. Mahboubian, H., Art of Ancient Iran, copper and bronze, London, 1997, p.170, fig.178b, for similar type; Gernez, G., L’armament en métal au Proche et Moyen-Orient: des origines a 1750 av. J.C., Paris, 2007, p.124, fig.2.6, subtype H2.B.b.
FootnotesThe type belongs to the Gernez classification of collared axes, with trapezoidal blade and cylindrical sleeve. This set of fairly standardised axes is characterised by a trapezoidal blade, a cylindrical collar with a clear moulding at its base and a marked angular moulding at its top, extending onto the top of the blade. This basic model is exclusively from Susa.
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AUCTIONS:
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Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Collection
Circa late 2nd millennium-6th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Including leaf-shaped, barbed and other types. 367 grams total, 3.4-10.7 cm
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s.
A number of arrowheads of this type have been excavated in Luristan and in the South-Caspian region. Many parallels are from a burial context, but a large hoard of them was found in a non-funerary context. This type of arrowhead has been in use from the late 2nd millennium B.C. Other arrowheads are clearly Achaemenid. -
Greek Bronze Tri-Finned Arrowhead Collection
Circa 7th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Comprising: seven arrowheads with a slender, lozenge-shaped blade and a socket extending near the tip, base of the socket with a side lug; eight socketted bronze arrowheads, mainly triangular or foliate in section, trilobate and with short socket. 77 grams total, 23-46 mm
UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a London gentleman.
The Scythians were famous for their archery abilities, and were often employed as mercenaries. The Athenian tyrant Pisistratus hired them and they participated in battles beside the Athenian phalanx as well as serving as a police corps keeping order within the city of Athens. This explains the great range of Scythian arrowheads found on the Greek sites. -
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Sarmatian Bronze Belt Clasp with Hare and Hound
Circa 3rd-2nd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Openwork rectangular panel with hare-and-hound motif, two lateral fixing lugs. 19.2 grams, 60 mm
Property of the vendor's grandfather, thence by family descent, circa 1985. From the private collection of a New York, USA gentleman.
Belt plaques with zoomorphic motifs illustrate not only the recognised unity of the zoomorphic art of the steppes, but also the links between the Sarmatians and the eastern nomadic groups. Important in this respect are similar buckles with representations of camels (Krasnogorovka III, Kurgan 11) or Ordos-style bronze plaques from the Kuban.
