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LOT 1500
Large Luristan Socketted Bronze Adze
2ND-EARLY 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
6 1/2 in. (570 grams, 16.5 cm).
An adze-axe head with central shaft hole and curved blades, flange to socket.
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. Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 2, London, 2004, item 34, p.32.
FootnotesThe adze-axe was a fundamental weapon of many Bronze Age cultures around the world. The form lends itself to dual purposes - for war and peace. As a tool, it functions in fabricating wood and as a weapon, its heavy mass and compact form make it a deadly striking and chopping weapon, even able to defeat light armour.
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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): £130
Piriform in profile with narrow point, deep shoulder and domed mouth; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 125 grams, 79 mm
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. -
Large Mesopotamian Bronze Javelin Head
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
Foliate blade, rhomboidal in section, raised mid-rib, medium length stem widening at the base and forming a small stop, rectangular-section tang with bent terminal. 187 grams, 45 cm
Ex London art market, 1980-1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The specimen belongs to the category of tripartite spears with long pointed biconvex blade and single bevelled tang. They seem to be a Mesopotamian and Susian (Elamite) variant, and this type also includes decorated blades, like the spear from Tello with the inscription 'King of Kish'. -
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Luristan Bronze Dagger
13th-6th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
Double-edged triangular blade, integral hilt with lateral flanges with remains of bone handle. 196 grams, 31 cm
From the estate of a deceased gentleman, Surrey, UK, 1980s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The dirk belongs to the type III in the Medvedskaya classification, used in Near East from the 13th to the 6th century B.C. The type is the 32a of the Maxwell-Hyslop study.
