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LOT 1463
Iron Age Celtic La Tene Ritually Bent Sword
CIRCA 450 B.C.– 50 A.D.
15 3/4 in. (760 grams total, 40 cm).
An iron long sword of Stead's Type II with two-edged, parallel-sided flat-section blade, rounded shoulders, long lenticular-section tang with knop finial.
ProvenanceAcquired on the German art market.
Private collection, Germany.
Kept in the UK from 2016.
See Stead, I.M., British Iron Age Swords and Scabbards, London, 2006, for discussion.
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Turco-Mongol 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Piriform in profile with a domed mouth and stepped neck, raised vertical lugs on the body, linear decoration; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 511 grams, 15.4 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. -
Indian Inscribed Ceremonial Brass Dart
Late 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
Comprising a rectangular-section shank with incised diagonal lines and punched pellets; narrow leaf-shaped blade with lateral flanches and notching; tail developing to lateral lobes with incised and punched ornament. 216 grsms, 60.5 cm
Property of a Berkshire, UK, gentleman collector. -
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Luristan Bronze Dirk
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
With a parallel-sided blade curving to a point, with a broad mid-rib, and a rectangular-section tang. 275 grams, 37 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
MacGregor dated such blades to the Late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age. Moorey, Gordon and Khorasani created a classification of bladed weapons, according to which daggers are edged weapons no greater than 36cm in length, dirks (short swords) are between 36cm and 50cm in length, and swords are edged weapons greater than 50cm in length.
