Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 1483
Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Collection
CIRCA LATE 2ND MILLENNIUM-6TH CENTURY B.C.
1 3/8 - 4 1/4 in. (367 grams total, 3.4-10.7 cm).
Including leaf-shaped, barbed and other types. [35]
Provenance
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s.
Literature
Cf. Muscarella, O.W., Bronze and Iron Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1988, pp.289ff, for similar; see also Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, nos.467, 471, 474, for type.
Footnotes
A number of arrowheads of this type have been excavated in Luristan and in the South-Caspian region. Many parallels are from a burial context, but a large hoard of them was found in a non-funerary context. This type of arrowhead has been in use from the late 2nd millennium B.C. Other arrowheads are clearly Achaemenid.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
RELATED LOTS
-
Luristan Bronze Axehead
3rd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
With a short blade flaring towards the cutting edge, rounded projection to the butt, rolled ridge around the shaft hole. 192 grams, 75 mm
UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a London gentleman.
The type corresponds to the Gernez type H.2.Fa, of axes with symmetrical collar, rear hump and rectangular blade. The exact provenance of only three axes of this type outside Luristan are known, mainly in Elam: one was found at Tepe Giyan, a second comes from a pit tomb in Susa and the last, a miniature, belongs to level VI of Tepe Gawra, dated to the last third of the 3rd millennium B.C. All the others are known as originating from Luristan. -
Luristan Bronze Short Sword with Integral Hilt with Crescent Pommel
14th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
A short sword or dagger with slender triangular blade, low round midrib with flat upper face, annular guard and remains of scooped shoulders, columnar grip with three gusseted hoops, crescent pommel. 520 grams, 43.7 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
These kind of bronze daggers or dirks, typical of Marlik culture, were cast in a one piece mould according to Negahban, although in some specimens the penannular guard was later cast into the blade. The separate sets of encircling ribs on the grips are again typical of swords from the Marlik area. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
A piriform ceramic missile with a band of impressed bars and triangles, with domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 913 grams, 13.5 cm
From a military inspired collection formed from the 1990s. 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'.
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.
