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Details
LOT 1494
Late Roman Iron Latch Key
4TH-5TH CENTURY A.D.
2 5/8 in. (31.15 grams, 67 mm).
Comprising a broad bow and short shank, perpendicular stem with incised notching to the lateral bit. [No Reserve]
Provenance
Ex German art market, 2000s.
Acquired from an EU collector living in London.
From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
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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.
