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Details
LOT 1813
Greek Lead Slingshot of Alexander the Great, Celebrating him as Invincible
336-323 B.C.
1 1/4 in. (27.48 grams, 32 mm).
Biconical in profile with casting seam and reserved monogram 'AB = ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ' (Αlexandrou basileos), a laurel wreath, symbol of victory, on the other side; extremely rare, only two specimens known. [No Reserve]
Provenance
From a German private collection, formed since the 1980s.
Previously property of an Austrian collector, Vienna.
Literature
For similar, see Nankov, E., Markers of Military Mobility: Toward an Archaeology of the Sling in Ancient Thrace (5th c. BC – 4th c. AD), with a corpus of the inscribed lead sling projectiles from Bulgaria. Glandes Plumbeae Inscriptae in Bulgaria Repertae, Sofia, 2023, p. 75 and pl. XXV LI14; Şahin, F., Patara, vol. V.2: Patarametal buluntulari, Istanbul, 2018, pp. 57–58, D11, fig. 13; cf. a similar slingshot in the Musée du Louvre (INV 1497), acquired by the museum in 1825.
Footnotes
The laurel wreath representing victory is also depicted on, e.g. gold staters of Alexander the Great, held by the goddess Nike.
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LOT 1813
Greek Lead Slingshot of Alexander the Great, Celebrating him as Invincible
Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,430
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