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LOT 1059
Large Luristan Socketted Adze-Axehead
13TH-7TH CENTURY B.C.
10 1/4 in. (1.43 kg, 26 cm).
With central socket and shaft; cutting blade set vertically at a right-angle; the short pick-adze blade arranged horizontally.
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
Cf. Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 2, London, 2004, items 21, 34.
FootnotesThe earliest axes-adzes from the 3rd millennium B.C. were weapons and tools furnished with socket holes. Usually the socket is a more secure way of attaching the object to a wooden haft than having a tang. These weapons developed into a plethora of different forms in the 2nd millennium B.C., and the numerous new forms and were used until at least 800 B.C.
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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Roman Stone and Lead Sling Shot Group
2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Comprising two lentoid-section, one a lead glans, and another in stone. 121 grams total, 47-58 mm
Ex Simmons Gallery, London E11, UK, in the 1990s. From a North London collection.
Both the missiles seem to be of ovoid type, type Ia of the Völling classification. The pair finds parallels with examples unearthed at Ham Hill, Somerset, UK. The sling (funda) with its lead missiles (plumbea pondera or glandae) and stone (lapides) was used by special funditores, illustrated on Trajan’s Column where they are simply dressed in broad tunics with no armour, but carry a shield. A fold in their cloak, or sagulum, acted as an ammunition bag. The effectiveness of the slingers was unquestionable and much appreciated, especially against elephants. Celsus, writing towards the end of the 2nd century A.D., described how a slingshot wound was more dangerous and harder to treat than one inflicted by an arrow. -
Polish Iron Sabre
17th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,470
Single-edged cutting blade, comprising a cross-shaped hand guard, the blade with a wide curvature widening towards the point, three grooves on the blunt side; later replaced wooden handle with Persian pommel and cross guard. 709 grams, 89.5 cm
Ex private collection of Mr M.B., Mainz, Germany, since the 1980s. Acquired from the above, 2004. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11940-210918.
This sabre blade belongs to no. IIa of Zablocki's classification with a blade of variable curvature and double-edged pronounced yelmen. These sabres were used in the 17th and in the first half of 18th century A.D. -
North-West Persian Bronze Short Sword with Blood Channels
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £150
Shaped as a two-edged bronze blade, leaf-shape with short rectangular tang with fastening hole, corrugated midrib extending almost to the tip and flared at the shoulder. 439 grams, 44.2 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
The metalworking techniques used in making bronze weapons in Luristan were very complex. Surfaces were often finished in repoussé work, and some of the weapons were chased and others engraved. Many of the graves dating from the era of Kassite hegemony contain bronze and iron artefacts, including various type of weapons. These swords with shallow fullers tapering to a sharp tip have been dated by P.R.S. Moorey to the end of the 2nd millennium B.C.
