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LOT 1431
Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Collection
13TH-6TH CENTURY B.C.
3 - 6 1/4 in. (375 grams total, 7.7-16 cm).
Comprising a variety of tanged triangular and leaf-shaped arrowheads with thick mid-rib, one barbed-and-tanged example. [16]
ProvenanceEx London art market, 1980-1990s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
See Muscarella, O.W., Bronze and Iron Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1988, pp.289ff, for similar arrowheads.
FootnotesOne category of the represented arrowheads has a sharp, flat blade, the ends of which extend to form wings or barbs, and a prominent midrib extending into a long tang that often has a stop; the blade shape varies from deltoid to more triangular. Another form has no barbs, but it has a prominent midrib extending to the tang, and a narrow leaf-shaped blade.
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Viking Iron Sword with Bronze Hilt of Petersen Type L
11th-13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £6,240
A 'Curonian' sword comprising a straight blade with a narrow and long tang, showing signs of employment on the edges; boat-shaped bronze cross guard with Jellinge style decoration of circles and crosses; rivetted seven-lobed pommel with an upper guard showing similar ornament. 689 grams, 81.5 cm
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12618-235588. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The sword, with its seven-lobed pommel and its guards finds good parallels with Baltic swords used by Prussian, Curonians, Estonian and Lithuanian pagan warriors; clear parallels can be seen in Kazakevičius 1996, figs.62-63 (fig.2) and Tomsons, 2012, fig.2 (Fig.3),3,7. The Curonian swords of this type, sometimes with animal head decoration on the lower guard, were widespread and used in the Eastern Baltic lands from 10th to 13th century. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Piriform in profile with narrow point and domed mouth; the body decorated with impressed concentric circles; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 510 grams, 13.3 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s onwards. 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'. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
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 Spearhead
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
Leaf-shaped blade with raised midrib extending to the shaft with a collar, rectangular section tang. 205 grams, 35 cm
Ex North London, UK, collection, 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
