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LOT 0311
Late Roman Iron Sword of Herulian Type
5TH-6TH CENTURY A.D.
35 in. (604 grams, 89 cm).
The double-edged spatha with parallel-sided blade and pointed tip, battle nicks to both cutting edges; the hilt and tang extending over the blade as a tight-fitting sleeve; remains of rivet on the tang.
ProvenanceEx 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. 11939-210916.
See Dennis, G., Maurice’s Strategikon, handbook of Byzantine Military Strategy, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984; Lebedinski, I., Armes et guerriers Barbares au temps des grandes invasions IVème au Vième siècle après J.C., Paris, 2001, p.118, for a similar example from Chapka-Tserkovnyi Kholm (Abkhazia); Kazanski, M., Mastykova, A., Tsibilium II, La nécropole apsile de Tsibilium, l’étude du site, BAR, 2007, see swords on pl.6, no.27 (Chapka-Cerkovnyj Holm), pl.13, no.14 (Anuhva).
FootnotesThis sword belongs to the group of spathae of late Roman typology, widespread among the Germanic and Abkhazian foederati, and garrison troops of the Northern Black Sea and Caucasus. These swords could have been the prototypes of the Eastern Roman spathia, classified in the Strategikon of Pseudo-Mavrikios as Herouliskia (Herulian swords) for their connections with the Germanic mercenaries bearing them in service with the Roman army.
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LOT 0311
Late Roman Iron Sword of Herulian Type
Estimate £3,000 - 4,000€3,480 - 4,640 (for guidance only)$4,050 - 5,400 (for guidance only)
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British Fairbairn-Sykes 'Beaded and Ringed' Commando Dagger in Scabbard
Circa 1942 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
By Rodgers, with finely shaped 15cm stiletto blade with traces of original black finish tapering to a steel oval guard and fitted with a brass 'beaded and ringed' shaped hilt secured by a copper pommel nut; the hilt bearing the War Department 'broad arrow' and '2' marks near to the guard; with the original leather scabbard fitted with brass rivets and chape, pierced for belt wear and with the side flaps for sewing cut away as commonly seen when belt worn; the dagger showing wear with minor chipping to the blade, and movement in the hilt. 254 grams, 33 cm overall
Property of a Luton, UK gentleman, by inheritance.
In the autumn of 1942, the Rodgers firm produced what many consider to be the best of all the wartime Fairbairn-Sykes knives: the 'Beads and Ridges' model (or 'Beaded and Ringed'); so-called for its distinctive grip pattern to the brass hilt of single rings of tiny beads, interspersed between sections of four to seven plain rings. The blade is delicate and uniform, and the weapon, though light, is well balanced. The blade finish was black (as this example) or nickel. All of this type are considered to be at least scarce. According to both Fredrick Stephens and Leroy Thompson the type was a commercial variant for private purchase; however, there are some rare cases of this type which were officially issued with the War Department broad arrow and number marks, as with this example. -
Civil War Lead Musket Ball Group
Mid 17th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Comprising fifty-one musket balls from the 2nd July 1644 ECW battle of Marston Moor, near York. 787 grams total, 11-18 mm
From a Northampton collector. From the collection of a Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Leaf-Shaped Spearhead
Early 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £546
Having ovate blade with central rib and slender shoulders, cylindrical short shaft marked by circular grooves broading towards the end, encasing a rectangular tang with a bent end. 134 grams, 23.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
In the 3rd millennium until the first half of the 2nd millennium in the Near and Middle East, in India, the Caucasus and Central Asia, a stalked tip was used for the spear heads, and this model developed in Mesopotamia in the middle of the 3rd millennium B.C. The main types were with a facetted blade on a volumetric pin and a leaf-shaped blade on a flat handle with holes for rivets. The same models spread almost unchanged to the Caucasus, Anatolia and Bactria.
