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LOT 1475
Large Luristan Bronze Spearhead
1200-1100 B.C.
16 3/4 in. (432 grams, 42.5 cm).
With ovate blade, central rib and curved shoulders, the lozenge-section long shaft tapering towards the end, rectangular tang with bent tip.
ProvenanceAcquired in the 1990s.
Ex Abelita family collection.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, item 291, p.636.
FootnotesThe spearhead represents a slender variant of type 1 of Khorasani classification. The type 1 was characterised by the bent tang. It was the evolution of a typology which began much earlier in Mesopotamia and the fertile crescent, the type 4 of the Stronach classification, with straight tang and square section, usually thickened at the base with a button tang.
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AUCTIONS:
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Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Bulbous body with pointed tip and domed mouth, incised circumferential bands above the shoulder; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 829 grams, 13 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s onwards. 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'. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
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. -
Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Collection
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Comprising mainly barbed-and-tanged and leaf-shaped types. 141 grams total, 44-81 mm
From a London collection, 1990s-2000. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Viking Age Danish Iron Broad Axehead
Late 10th-early 11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
With rectangular spurs above and below the curved socket, medium-broad flaring triangular-section blade extending to a curved edge, hammer extension to the rear. 245 grams, 13.6 cm
Fair condition.
Private collection, York, UK, 1990s. Property of a Sussex, UK, teacher. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The first specialised battle-axes which appeared in the second half of the 10th century A.D. were light, narrow, usually thinly forged but with broad-edged blades, sometimes decorated with precious metals.
