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LOT 1500
Greek Slingshot with Snake
4TH-1ST CENTURY B.C.
1 1/4 in. (31.2 grams, 31 mm).
Lentoid in form with raised figure of a coiled snake to one face, possible legend to reverse.
ProvenancePrivate collection, Austria.
Private collection, Europe.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1500
Greek Slingshot with Snake
Estimate £250 - 350€290 - 410 (for guidance only)$340 - 470 (for guidance only)
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Medieval Knight's Iron Hand-and-a-Half Sword with Inscribed Bronze Pommel
Germany, 14th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £14,300
Longsword of Oakeshott's Type XVa, cross style 8, bronze pommel style J (recessed); strongly tapering, pointed blade of ‘flattened diamond’ section, cross style tapering gradually outward to sharply downturned tips; long grip with slight taper, disc pommel with chamfered edges and a potent cross in the centre surrounded by an inscription (on both sides) '+ IH SU + AAWM'. 1.25 kg, 113 cm
From the private family collection of a lady, UK; acquired in Germany mid 20th century. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13034-24799.
Some wheel pommels of this date have engraved, or inset roundels with armorial or devotional emblems, and a number of sword blades of this date bear religious inscriptions in the form of a prayer. The inscription on the pommel between the two potent crosses is intriguing. The letters 'IH SU' are a clear reference to the name of the Saviour, and can be translated as Ihesu-Jesus, or also Ihesu Merci (Jesus have mercy), a simple prayer for the person carrying the sword. The letters 'A.A. W.M.' could refer to the name of the owner of the sword (WM = Wilhelm) or the maker of the weapon. It is difficult to consider the letters as an abbreviation of the prayer ‘Ave Maria’, usually shortened in the German medieval inscriptions as A.M. -
Large Luristan Bronze Socketted Axehead
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
With a slender, scooped blade, a round socket and shallow scooped depression to the upper face of the blade with thick curved edge; socket chipped. 1.05 kg, 13 cm
Acquired on the UK art market before 2000. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman. -
Turco-Mongol 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Bomb or Hand Grenade
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Piriform in profile with a domed mouth and a stepped neck, incised decoration; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 460 grams, 16.5 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.
