Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 1413
Luristan Bronze Blade Group
14TH-10TH CENTURY B.C.
7 3/8 - 10 5/8 in. (342 grams total, 18.7-27 cm).
Tanged spearheads with foliate blades, one with accentuated midrib and bent tang, another with squared shoulders and bent tang, the third with slender blade and narrow tang with fastening hole. [3]
Provenance
Acquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Literature
See Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, s.cat.270, 273 and 275, for the typologies of these spearheads.
Footnotes
Spearheads with large foliate blades and bent tangs were excavated in the Marlik Royal cemetery by Dr Negahban, see for example in tomb 47, Trench XXIIE. They were the evolution of a typology which began much earlier in Mesopotamia and the fertile crescent, the type 4 of the Stronach classification, with straight tang and square section, usually thickened at the base with a button tang. The foliate blade was wide and exaggerated in some specimens excavated at Marlik.
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
-
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Globular body with domed mouth, deeply incised vertical lines to the body with impressed dots on the body; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 365 grams, 11.5 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 Sword
Late 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £520
Later hilt with mushroom-shaped pommel, openwork grip with 'chain'-shaped pattern, crescentic guard, long sloping blade with rectangular-section mid-ridge. 1.05 kg, 55.2 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
These bronze swords were characterised by a solid-cast hilt with penannular guard, a grip equipped with raised shaped figures and a conical, hollow-cast mushroom pommel. The blade had a very pronounced shaped central midrib. In the complete specimens the hilt was usually cast with the blade. -
Mesopotamian Bronze Javelin Head
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
With foliate blade, rhomboidal in section, raised mid-rib, medium length stem widening at its base and forming a small stop, rectangular-section tang with bent terminal. 206 grams, 45.4 cm
Acquired in the 1990s. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The specimen belongs to the category of tripartite spears with long pointed biconvex blade and single bevelled tang. They seem to be a Mesopotamian and Susian (Elamite) variant, and this type also includes decorated blades, like the spear from Tello with the inscription 'King of Kish'.