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LOT 1068
Luristan Arrowhead Group
2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
1 3/4 - 4 1/4 in. (52 grams total, 4.3-10.9 cm).
A group of six bronze arrowheads with deltoid form, a sharp barbed blade and prominent midrib extending to a long tang. [6]
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
Cf. Muscarella, O.W., Bronze and Iron Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1988, pp.289ff., for similar, nos.408, 409, 416.
FootnotesA number of arrowheads of this type have been excavated from the Northern Iranian Plateau, in Luristan and in the South-Caspian region. Many parallels have a burial provenance, but a large hoard of them was found in a non-funerary context. This type of arrowhead has been in use from the 2nd millennium B.C. Godard claimed that barbed types of heads came from tombs from Luristan, like the ones found in Tang-i-Hamamlan.
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AUCTIONS:
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Luristan Socketted Cudgel
13th-7th century B.C.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £150
A bronze cudgel or handle of an axe or mace reinforced at both ends by raised moulding, the handle adorned with a double spiral in relief. 473 grams, 15.5 cm wide
Fine condition.
Private family collection formed in London, mid 1980s to early 1990s. -
Western Asiatic Dagger Blade with Winged Guards
Late 2nd-mid 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £410
A bronze dagger with prominently curved or winged guard, extending out from the ricasso and partly framing the tang, once covered by an organic hilt; the thick midrib extending slightly above the ricasso. 484 grams, 60 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
Many examples of these blades have been excavated in the South Caspian area at Ghalekuti, and in the area of Talish. They have been found primarily in Iron Age graves, although the curves of the guards are reminiscent of the barbed arrow and javelin heads associated with Bronze Age Marlik. This is why some scholars (Dyson) dated them to the second millennium BC and others (Muscarella) to the recent Iron Age. It is possible that this style represents continuity from the Bronze to the Iron Age. -
Migration Period Spatha Sword Blade with Fittings
Circa 4th-5th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,950
A military assemblage comprising: a double-edged spatha with a lentoid parallel-sided iron blade and pointed tip, battle nicks to both cutting edges; long tang with a bronze fastening rivet in situ; oblate chalcedony pommel; gilt copper-alloy chape scabbard fitting with fastening holes and a pair of round scabbard or baldric fittings. 937 grams total, 5-81.3 cm
Fine condition
Acquired 1971-1972. From the collection of the vendor's father. Property of a London, UK, collector. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.11587-198852.
Prestigious swords with richly trimmed sheaths, guards and hilts of the Great Migration Period on the Cimmerian Bosphorus are very few, although some specimens have been excavated from Kerch, Phanagoria, Hermonassa and Dzhurga-Oba. They were either custom-made or received as war booty. This sword belongs to a group of spathae of late Roman typology spread among the Germanic and Nomad foederati, and garrison troops of the Northern Black Sea and Bosphorus.
