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LOT 1158
Luristan Arrowhead Group
13TH-9TH CENTURY B.C.
5 1/8 - 6 3/4 in. (161 grams total, 13-17 cm).
Comprising four tanged arrowheads, having large elongated triangular blades and raised midrib, sharp central groove, rectangular section stem with handle for the shaft, barbed shoulders and convex or squared sides. [4]
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK, 1969-1999; thence by descent.
LiteratureSee Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, figures 467 and 470, for some of these types.
FootnotesThese arrowheads seem to belong to the type V, subcategory types A and C according to the classification of Khorasani and Negahban. In the four categories of triangular bronze arrowheads from Luristan, Marlik and Northern Iran individuated by Negahban, subtypes A and C of type V are larger arrow heads with barbed shoulders and triangular heads. These types of arrowheads were commonly used in Anatolia and Mesopotamia from the 2nd millennium B.C., but apparently their employment began earlier in this area, where types like these occur alongside the non-barbed, predominantly ribbed and tanged types.
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The blade with a lozenge-shaped cross-section; restored handle with bulbous cross-guard, waisted grip and flared pommel. 195 grams, 37.2 cm
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Luristan Short Sword Blade
Early 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Triangular with thick rectangular-section midrib, rounded shoulders, narrow tip, short tang with hole for fixing pin for the organic grip; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 285 grams total, 32 cm wide including stand
Acquired 1980s-1990s. From the H.N. collection, Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire, UK.
This tanged bronze blade from Luristan belongs to a category of Luristan swords still in use in the Achaemenid Period, as proved by a blade with a perished handle (probably bone or wood) of the same type, in the National Museum of Iran (2694/15633). Examples without inscriptions like our model have been classified by Grotkamp-Schepers in the Solingen Museum as pieces from Luristan. -
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