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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.
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:
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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. -
Medieval Knight's Iron Hand-and-a-Half Sword with Inscribed Bronze Pommel
Germany, 14th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £14,300
Longsword of Oakeshott's Type XVa, cross style 8, bronze pommel style J (recessed); strongly tapering, pointed blade of ‘flattened diamond’ section, cross style tapering gradually outward to sharply downturned tips; long grip with slight taper, disc pommel with chamfered edges and a potent cross in the centre surrounded by an inscription (on both sides) '+ IH SU + AAWM'. 1.25 kg, 113 cm
From the private family collection of a lady, UK; acquired in Germany mid 20th century. 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.13034-24799.
Some wheel pommels of this date have engraved, or inset roundels with armorial or devotional emblems, and a number of sword blades of this date bear religious inscriptions in the form of a prayer. The inscription on the pommel between the two potent crosses is intriguing. The letters 'IH SU' are a clear reference to the name of the Saviour, and can be translated as Ihesu-Jesus, or also Ihesu Merci (Jesus have mercy), a simple prayer for the person carrying the sword. The letters 'A.A. W.M.' could refer to the name of the owner of the sword (WM = Wilhelm) or the maker of the weapon. It is difficult to consider the letters as an abbreviation of the prayer ‘Ave Maria’, usually shortened in the German medieval inscriptions as A.M. -
Viking Hooked Iron Axehead
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £442
With broad curved blade and pointed chin, tapering neck, deep socket. 366 grams, 20.1 cm
Ex North American private collection, 1970s.
