Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Group

Comprising a broad double-edged parallel-sided blade, flat-section at the upper third with a very shallow central fuller, elliptical-section at the lower end; flat guard with scooped lower edge, D-section arms horizontally S-curved; 'cat's head' type pommel, rectangular with scrolled upper edge and integral central boss to both faces; on the upper part of the blade an engraved three-armed workshop mark and two possibly later added brass inlaid marks including a cross fourchee inside and the image of a sword to one side; mounted on a wall display mount. 1.7 kg total, 1.11 m

In general good condition, point missing, blade structure with little delamination along the upper part, corrosion damages along the edges and on the surface, some material loss on the original surface.

Private collection, Munich, Germany, 1970s. Private collection, London, UK, 2014, acquired from the above.

The Schiavonesca sword was used by Dalmatian mercenaries serving in the Venetian state armies, and produced by the workshops of the Serenissima to which the marks probably belong. Many of these swords were produced in Dubrovnik, a Croatian city under the Venetian rule. Oakeshott classified all the pommels of square shape in his Type Z. Certain morphological differences between them were individuated by Dr Aleksić as a criteria for distinguishing the distinct subtypes, in this case the type Z3 for the upper crenelleted edge. The cross-guards of type 12b, like in this case, have symmetrically and horizontally sharply bent arms in the opposite directions. The 'cat's head' pommel is also found on surviving examples of cross-hilted swords of the 14th century which can be traced into the hands of Slavonic soldiers stationed in southern Europe, employed in the European armies of this period. The independent representation of the cross fourchee usually inscribed in a circle is rather frequent on the swords with type 12 cross guards and type Z pommel from Hungary, Northern Balkans and the neighbouring regions (Aleksić, 2007, p.122).

Comprising four triangular plates each with curved profile mounted with the frontal and rear plates overlapping the lateral ones, rivetted; two small lateral rings for attachment of cheek-plates; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 3.36 kg total, 44 cm high including stand

Good condition; surface with some rusting but complete in its structure.

Acquired 1971-1972. From the collection of the vendor's father. Property of a London, UK, collector. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no. 11754-202772.

The type of helmet composed from rivetted plates is a long-lived military fashion depicted from Late Antiquity to the medieval period.

Comprising leaf-shaped and triangular, tanged and barbed arrowheads. 70 grams total, 9.1-12.4 cm



English private collection, acquired 1970s. The Kusmirek Collection, UK.

The arrowheads correspond to the classification of the arrowheads with elongated triangular shape with barbed shoulders and lanceolate head with rounded shoulders from the category type V, according to the studies of Khorasani and the excavations in Negahban.