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LOT 1449
Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Collection
CIRCA 1000 B.C.
3 1/8 - 4 3/8 in. (84 grams total, 8-11.2 cm).
Each with an elongated, triangular shape with barbed shoulders, raised midrib and quadrangular spiked tang. [6, No Reserve]
ProvenanceUK private collection before 2000.
Acquired on the UK art market.
Property of a London gentleman.
See Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, figures 454 and 455, p.741, for the type.
FootnotesThis type of arrowhead came in different varieties and sizes: some of them have barbed shoulders, some rounded shoulders, but both the types had a raised midrib.
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AUCTIONS:
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Scythian Iron Akinakes Sword with Decorations
4th century B.C.Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £750
Of Central Asian typology, strong hilt and narrow ogival guard with Steppe style ornamentation, tipped hilt, triangular tapering blade fitted with a central triangular blood channel with sixteen grooves. 481 grams, 58.5 cm
Ex 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 a search certificate number no.12283-214520.
The akinakes was a characteristic Scythian type of weaponry, which was used throughout their history (7th-3rd centuries B.C.). With the departure of the Scythians from the steppe in the 3rd century B.C., and the appearance of the Sarmatian tribes in the Northern Black Sea region in the 2nd-1st centuries B.C., Sarmatian types of bladed weapons spread in the region. This particular shape of akinakes belongs to the nomadic cultures of Central Asia. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
A small ceramic missile with domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 207 grams, 86 mm
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. -
Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Collection
Circa 14th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
Including triangular, leaf-shaped, barbed and other types. 450 grams total, 9.5-15.5 cm
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s.