Loading, please wait...
_900x900.jpg "Elamite Decorated Bronze Axehead")
_200x200.jpg "Elamite Decorated Bronze Axehead")
.jpg "Elamite Decorated Bronze Axehead")
LOT 0263
Elamite Decorated Bronze Axehead
2ND-1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
4 1/2 in. (330 grams, 11.6 cm).
With a crescentic blade, ornamental curved edging to the upper shaft hole, a collar to the lower shaft hole, raised band around the edge of the blade.
ProvenanceFrench collection, 1980s.
Acquired on the London art market.
Private collection, London, UK.
Cf. Mahboubian, H., Art of Ancient Iran, copper and bronze, London, 1997, p.166, fig.172b.
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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
-
Roman Lead Slingshot Group
1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £247
A mixed group of four lentoid-section biconical lead slingshot, three fitted with iconic winged thunderbolts on one side, and one with the Tanit goddess symbol, possibly alluding to a Balearic-Punic origin. 155 grams total, 28-30 mm
From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman; acquired in the 1990s.
The slingshots are belonging to the type IIb of the Völling classification. The practice of inscribing slingshots developed early, in 4th century BC Greece. Most inscriptions are names (in full or abbreviated) of generals or commanders of units of slingers. Some are slogans of the contesting sides. Individual letters occasionally appear, sometimes in conjunction with a name or motif or numbers. -
Medieval Bronze Flail Head with Four Heads
14th-15th century A.D.Estimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £200
Formed as four radiating D-shaped masks beneath a rosette, substantial suspension loop. 114 grams, 60 mm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Saxon Sacrificed Iron Spatha with Bronze Chape
5th-6th century A.D.Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £600
Double-edged long sword (spatha) of type Osterburken-Kemathen; the blade with squared shoulders, broken into two parts for sacrificial reasons, tapering towards the point; sturdy tang partially preserved; wooden traces of the scabbard and hilt still visible; accompanied by a bronze outer rim of a scabbard; restored. 630 grams total, 78 cm long
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
The deliberate fragmentation of a sword, often into three pieces, was a symbolic act of ‘killing’ the weapon, which was then placed as a grave good or offered in a ceremonial context. This was a Germanic custom already visible in the Vandal Przeworsk culture around the 3rd or 4th century A.D., which continued in Northern European areas until the 5th and the 6th centuries A.D.
