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LOT 1470
Indo-Persian Inlaid Iron Talwar with Scabbard
EARLY-MID 20TH CENTURY A.D.
25 1/4 in. (823 grams, 64 cm).
Comprising a curved damascened steel blade, hilt with horse-head pommel, knuckle-guard and stub quilolons; scabbard with two suspension points, inlaid white-metal detailing.
ProvenancePrivate collection, UK.
LiteratureCf. Mierzejewska, A., Chodiński, A.R., Broń Orientu, (Weapons of the Orient) Catalogue of the Toruń Regional Museum, Toruń, 2009, fig.16, p.29.
FootnotesThis is an example of a saber mass-produced for tourists at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. This is evidenced by the carelessly executed decoration of the engraved ornament covering the main part of the scabbard, as well as the inferior technique of decorating the hilt. However, it is a solid replica of the swords used in real combat.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1470
Indo-Persian Inlaid Iron Talwar with Scabbard
Estimate £400 - 600€460 - 700 (for guidance only)$540 - 810 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£200 (EUR 232; USD 270) +BP*
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Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Piriform body with domed filler-hole; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 455 grams, 14.6 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s. Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 15 July 2019 and titled 'Eastern Roman Empire - Greek Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade (μεσαίον kακάβιον) 9th-11th century AD'.
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. -
Large Luristan Bronze Adze
Bronze Age, 2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Short tubular socket with raised ribs, perpendicular rectangular-section blade with convex cutting edge. 462 grams, 16.5 cm
From a UK collection formed in the 1980s. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman.
Unadorned weapons, especially axes, adzes, and picks, were made by Luristan craftsmen using simple clay or stone bivalve moulds, into which a core was inserted to form the socket for the shaft. Typically, the metallic composition consisted of a combination of arsenical bronze and copper, together with a small percentage of lead. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Collection
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Comprising fifteen tanged arrowheads, mainly leaf-shaped and barbed types. 247 grams total, 4.8-18 cm
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s.