Iron Age Celtic Sacrificed Sword and Axehead Group

Featuring an oval-shaped socket, straight upper edge and curved lower edge with slightly convex cutting edge. 1.2 kg, 14.5 cm



Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection.

Unadorned weapons, especially axes, adzes and picks, were made by Luristan craftsmen using simple clay or stone bivalve moulds, into which was inserted a core 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.

Each with a long and narrow blade, the longer of square section, the shorter rectangular, each fitted with traditional slender, straight hilt, guard and finger-ring. 657 grams total, 85-106 cm



Acquired from Czerny's Auctions, Italy, 2016, lot 280. The Kusmirek Collection, UK. Accompanied by a copy of Czerny's invoice and listing.

From the right side of the face mask, the upper edge with a band of embossed diagonal lines, probably intending to represent stylised hair, embossed spiral to the centre, a symbol clearly connected with the worship of the sun; a hole for the fastening thongs at ear-level which originally linked the face-guard to the bowl. 75 grams, 13 cm high



Acquired 1960s-1990s. Late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister.

The spiral decoration of the face-guard is connected with the solar cult. The spiral represents the rotary movement of the sun, and the spiral is probably the oldest known spiritual symbol connected with the sun, together with the swastika or tetragammadion. The connection can also be seen in Celtic art, where the representation of the spiral also follows the path of the sun, describing the movements of the heavenly body over the course of a solar year. The third century was characterised by diffusion of the solar cult, the Sol Invictus, among the Roman soldiers, with its symbols often represented on arms and weapons as an apotropaic element of protection.