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LOT 1480
Greek Lead Slingshot of Alexander the Great
3RD-1ST CENTURY B.C.
1 1/4 in. (29.6 grams, 30 mm).
Biconical in profile with casting seam and reserved legend 'ΑΛ[EXANΔΡΟ]Υ.', the club of Herakles on the other side. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired on the German art market before 2000.
Private collection, Munich, Germany.
See Akat Özenir, S., ‘Some Inscribed Lead Sling Bullets from Miletos’ in Epigraphica Anatolica 50 (2017), pp. 167–178, nos.19-21, for similar.
FootnotesThe presence of the club of Herakles connects the slingshot with the Macedonian Dynasty. Similar slingshots were found in Miletos.
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:
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LOT 1480
Greek Lead Slingshot of Alexander the Great
Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
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Turco-Mongol 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Piriform in profile with a domed mouth and stepped neck, raised vertical lugs on the body, linear decoration; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 511 grams, 15.4 cm
From a specialist collection, London, UK, 1990-2000s.
Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια, where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form. -
North Western Persian Bronze Blade
Early 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
With a long tapering blade, rounded shoulders, broad flattened mid-rib, and a tapering square-section tang. 311 grams, 37.7 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
Edged weapons with tangs are among the simplest forms of weapons from this culture. This basic type was hardly altered in the period when bronze was the most important material in weapon production. The retention of this basic type with so few alterations makes precise dating challenging. Bronze daggers, dirks and swords exist today only as bronze blades, having lost their perishable handles over the course of time. -
Western Asiatic Arrowhead and Blade Collection
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Comprising mainly triangular and leaf-shaped tanged types, narrow blades with midrib. 725 grams total, 9.3-21 cm
From a London, UK, collection, 1990s.
