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LOT 1485
Hellenistic Bronze Cuirass Section
3RD-1ST CENTURY B.C.
8 1/4 in. (301 grams, 21 cm).
Possible flank right element of a composite cuirass for a kataphraktos (armoured horseman), part of the edge still preserved on three sides, fastening holes and part of the clasps for attaching the piece to the other parts of armour still visible. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceUK private collection, acquired in 1996.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Connolly, P., Greece and Rome at War, London, 2006, figs.p.55-56, for the typology of armour and similar fragments; for the type and composition of the Hellenistic heavy armours see Nikonorov, V. P., & Savchuk, S. A., ‘ New Data on Ancient Bactrian Body-Armour (In the Light of Finds from Kampyr Tepe)’ in Iran, 30, 1992, pp.49-54, figs.1-5.
FootnotesA near complete armour for cataphract was found in a French excavation in Al-Khanoum, a Hellenistic city in Afghanistan. The cavalry of Seleucid, Ptolemaic and other Hellenistic Kingdoms formed regiments of heavy armoured horsemen, who in the west, employed a combination of lamellar and segmented armour together with muscled armour of Greek type. Cataphract armour in the west had more Greek elements, for example more plate armour and less scale and lamellar.
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Luristan Bronze Blade
1200-1100 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
With a long pointed triangular blade and a short tang, two rivet holes at the base of the blade. 193 grams, 36.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The Luri people produced a quantity of fine metalwork, which according to Dr. Khorasani, could be due to a settled period which arose as a result of the defeat of the Elamites by the Babylonians, leaving the Luristani people in relative peace for a period of time after 1200 BC. According to Khorasani 'A culture of innovation and experimentation flourished, and the repertoire of the Luristan smiths expanded in the period between 1150–1050 BC.' -
Western Asiatic Bronze Spearheads
14th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
The leaf-shaped ovate blade with rounded, gently curved shoulders and raised midrib, flat rectangular-sectioned tang tapering to a bent end with a fastening button; in one specimen the tang is protruding from the 'blade sheath'. 507 grams total, 26-27.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Similar spearheads were excavated in the Marlik Royal cemetery by Dr Negahban, see for example in tomb 47, Trench XXIIE. They were the evolution of a typology which began much earlier in Mesopotamia and the fertile crescent, the type 4 of the Stronach classification, with straight tang and square section, usually thickened at the base with a button tang. The foliate blade was wide and exaggerated in some specimens excavated at Marlik. -
Chinese Liao Bone Arrowhead
Liao Dynasty, 907-1125 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7
Conical with a tapering, short tang. 9.3 grams, 11.4 cm
Ex property of a UK gallery, early 2000s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
