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Details
LOT 1492
Greek Macedonian Lead Inscribed Slingshot Group
3RD-1ST CENTURY B.C.
1 1/4 - 1 3/8 in. (115 grams total, 33-36 mm).
Each biconical in profile and lentoid in section with casting seam. [3, No Reserve]
Provenance
Ex German art market, 2000s.
Acquired from an EU collector living in London.
From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Literature
See similar slingshot in the British Museum, London, inv.no. 1851,0507.11.
Footnotes
Lead sling bullet of this almond shape type were often decorated (like one of our specimens) with a winged thunderbolt on one side and on the other side with the inscription DEXAI "Catch!" in high relief. In the Hellenistic armies, the Rhodians were considered formidable slingers, and used as mercenaries by Hellenistic and Roman Consular armies.
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