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LOT 0304
Iron Age Celtiberian Dagger
CIRCA 2ND-1ST CENTURY B.C.
14 3/4 in. (186 grams, 37.5 cm).
Hand-forged with leaf-shaped blade and three pronounced midribs, rounded shoulder, stepped lower guard square-section tang, upper guard with stepped upper face.
ProvenanceEx Mayfair gallery, London, UK, before 1999.
Property of a London, UK, gentleman.
Accompanied by a copy of a previous catalogue information page.
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Elamite Bronze Cudgel with Animals
Circa mid 3rd-early 2nd millennium B.C.Estimate: £1,200 - 1,700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £400
With ribbed terminals; the upper body with three relief panels of herringbone design, the main body decorated with spikes, three lion bodies arranged vertically, and three ram-head protomes under the central herringbone panel; mounted on a custom-made stand. 650 grams total, 18.5 cm high (26.5 cm high including stand)
Ex Kuizenga collection, Netherlands. Acquired in Hamburg, Germany, 22 December 1995.
Moorey notes that though the rows of spikes suggest that these objects were designed to be mounted on wooden shafts as cudgels, the projections in the form of lions (?) indicates the possibility that they were also used as votive or parade weapons. However, it does not exclude an effective use on the battlefield, especially if used by commanders as signs of rank. -
Canaanite Bronze Dirk
13th-12th century B.C.Estimate: £400 - 600 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £200
With lentoid-section blade, tongue-shaped in plan, integral tapering hilt with flared finial, lateral flanges to accept a panel of bone or wood to each face forming the grip. 174 grams, 34 cm
Ex Joseph J. Gancie (1923-2010), Washington, Silver Spring, Maryland. with Alex Cooper Auctioneers Inc., sale 1035, 27 January 2013, lot 162a.
The dirk belongs to the type III in the Medvedskaya classification, used in Near East from the 13th to the 6th century B.C. The type is the 32a of the Maxwell-Hyslop study. The Asiatic daggers of this type are confined to Syria and Persia, but Transcaucasia also provides an interesting analogy from Kalekent on the Baku peninsula, where a pointed straight-sided dagger blade has a flanged hilt with the whole of the side flanges bent over the centre. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £176
Piriform body with thick ribs to the shoulder and impressed panels between, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 708 grams, 15 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. 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.
