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LOT 0318
Greek Iron Short Sword
HELLENISTIC, 2ND-1ST CENTURY B.C.
22 in. (400 grams, 56 cm).
Lentoid in section with two cutting edges and narrow point; slight flare towards the tip; small shoulder and rectangular-section tang.
ProvenanceEx German art market, 2000s.
Acquired from an EU collector living in London.
From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
See Esposito, G. Armies of the Hellenistic States 323 BC to AD 30. Stroud, 2019 for discussion; Cf. British Museum accession no. 1868,1025.98 for similar (with hilt intact).
FootnotesThis style of straight, parallel-sided weapon is referred to in Greek sources of the time as a xiphe. It was a secondary battlefield armament after the spear and javelin. It is associated with the revolutionary developments in armour, weaponry and tactics between the Classical and Iron Age periods.
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Luristan Bronze Socketted Spearhead
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Comprising a tapering tubular socket with raised ribs, a triangular blade with a raised midrib; ferrel collars to the shaft. 80 grams, 18.6 cm
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These kinds of spearheads were realised by casting in a mould. They were of different lengths and used by Luristan, Hamadan, early Median and Achaemenid warriors. The bronze rings were destined to reinforce the structure of the bronze shaft, because the blow, with this spear, was usually delivered by grasping the spear with two hands. -
Elamite Bronze Macehead Inscribed 'To Nin’azu, Bala, son of Lugal-kare-si'
Early Dynastic IIIB Period, circa 2500-2340 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
Comprising a cylindrical shaft with a narrow flanged base, the upper section with three vertical relief panels decorated by round spikes alternated with a wavy pattern, divided and bordered by parallel ridges, engraved with five lines of Sumerian cuneiform text around the socket, a votive inscription translating to: 'To Nin’azu, Bala, son of Lugal-kare-si, the merchant, has presented (it)'. 350 grams, 11.6 cm
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This gorz mace head belongs to the category of truncheon-shaped mace heads, a type developed on the Iranian plateau during the Bronze Age, used by Elamite and Luristan warriors since the 3rd millennium B.C. This category of objects was also interpreted as a part of a shaft or cudgel, but most scholars agree on the interpretation of use as a mace.
