Loading, please wait...
LOT 1377
Hellenistic Rhodian Lead Slingshot with Scorpion
3RD CENTURY B.C.
1 1/4 in. (26 grams, 31 mm).
Lentoid-section and depicting a stylised scorpion to one side and inscription 'ΚΑΛΑ' on the other. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx Cummings collection, UK, 1990s.
LiteratureCf. 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.
FootnotesTogether 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. The slingshots with an image of a scorpion on one side and with an inscription ΚΑΛΑ on the other are believed to originate from the Island of Rhodes. On these sling bullets ΚΑΛΑ should be translated as “nice things.” Of course, ironically, these “nice things” were designed to kill enemies and to sting like a scorpion, and the message of those with the image of a scorpion could be understood, as proposed ny M. Manov and N. Torbov, as: “nice things sting like a scorpion.”
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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
-
Iron Spiked Macehead
Circa 16th-17th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Comprising a globular flail head with large suspension loop above and sixteen spiked projections to the sides. 829 grams, 89 mm
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
The medieval flail was a weapon mainly used in Eastern Europe, probably created among the Steppe people and used by the Mongols, adopted by the Slavic people under the name of kisten. Such a weapon probably saw little use in Western Europe, where it is first represented in the 14th century in a fresco depicting the battle of Nineveh painted by Piero della Francesca, as a chain with three maceheads. In the poem Le Chevalier Délibéré written by Olivier de la Marche and published in 1486, there is an engraving representing a knight carrying a rather simple morning star with asymmetrically mounted quills and a single-ball flail of quills. It is thought that in the Middle Ages the nailed mace in general was used to break through and dismantle the armour of enemies who were then 'finished' with swords or daggers. -
Western Asiatic Spiked Bronze Macehead Group
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £3,000 - 4,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,500
Comprising: one with two unaligned rows, each with four horizontal spikes, topped by a tooth helping to secure the mace to a wooden shaft; the second with a long socket and a row of six spikes, three pointed and three rounded, double tipped edge for securing the shaft; the third with six horizontal spikes; all with solid heads and hollow tubular sockets; of North-West Iranian typology. 1.35 kg total, 10-15 cm
Acquired from Artemis Gallery, Munich in 1995. European private collection. 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.11997-211853.
A variety of similar bronze mace heads have been recovered in Hasanlu and Marlik, mainly of spiked variety. Excavations at 8th-7th century B.C. War Kabud and Chamzhi-Mumah in Luristan have produced related types, with smaller spikes or knobs and with an elongated socket, like one of our examples. These spiked maces are a specifically Iranian type. In general, they were used from the 9th century B.C. although some scholars support the thesis of their use in the late 2nd-early 1st millennium based on finds from Marlik. -
Marlik Type Bronze Tanged Spearhead
12th-11th century B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
With heavily ridged and tapering blade, short collared shaft and a square-section tapering tang bent at the tip. 159 grams, 31.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
The weapon belongs to type I of the Khorasani classification. Similar weapons have been excavated in Marlilk by Professor Negahban and dated by Stutzinger to the late 13th-early 12th century B.C.
