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LOT 1786
Greek Lead Slingshot with Inscription and Bee
3RD CENTURY B.C.
1 1/4 in. (30.4 grams, 31 mm).
Lentoid-section and depicting a bee to one side and the inscription 'ΚΑΛΑ' on the other.
ProvenanceEx German art market, 2000s.
Acquired from an EU collector living in London.
From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
Cf. Manov, M., Torbov.N., 'Inscribed Lead Sling Bullets with the name of Alexander the Great and with other names and symbols found in Thrace' in Archaeologia Bulgarica, XX, 2, pp.29-43, fig.23, for identical; Schinco, G., Small, A.M., 'A previously unknown siege of Botromagno/Silvium: the evidence of slingshots from Gravina in Puglia (Provincia di Bari, Puglia)' in Papers of the British School at Rome, 2019, pp.1-52, fig.38.
FootnotesThe slingshots with an inscription ΚΑΛΑ are believed to originate from the island of Rhodes. On these sling bullets, ΚΑΛΑ should be translated as “nice things.” Together with the Balearic slingers, Rhodian slingers were considered to be the best of the Hellenistic world, and they were also used in the Roman army.
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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
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Acquired before 1983. Ex London gallery, 1990s. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13257-253385.
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. -
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Luristan Bronze Axehead
12th-11th century B.C.Estimate: £250 - 350 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £133
A spike-butted axehead with a short cylindrical socket with four furrowed ribs leading to four short spikes, blade with curved upper and lower edges and a convex cutting edge. 390 grams, 22 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
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