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LOT 1133
Luristan Bronze Blade
LATE 2ND- EARLY 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
14 in. (217 grams, 35.5 cm).
Sharply pointed with raised midrib to each face, square shoulders pierced to accept the fixings for the hilt, stub tang.
ProvenanceEx German collection, Cologne, 1980-1990s.
LiteratureSee similar in Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 1, London, 2002, p.34, no.31, p.36, no.33; Malekzadeh, M., Hasanpur, A., Hashemi, Z., 'Fouilles (2005-2006) a Sangtarashan, Luristan, Iran' in Iranica Antiqua, vol.LII, 2017, pp.61-155, pl.32, no.205.
FootnotesThe two holes on the shoulders of the blade provided attachment for a separate hilt. This could have been a penannular grip, which can be seen on some swords from Sangtarashan; or in north-west Iranian blades with rectangular guard and flanged hilt, where the guard was rivetted to the blade, like in some swords in the Axel Guttmann collection.
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Luristan Bronze Short Sword Blade
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Triangular profile with two parallel fullers tapering to a rounded tip, the tang forming an extension of the midrib. 194 grams, 30.7 cm
Ex German collection, Cologne, 1980-1990s.
The metalworking techniques used in making bronze weapons in Luristan were very complex. Surfaces were often finished in repoussé work, and some of the weapons were chased, others engraved. -
Amlash Bronze Spear Blade
12th-11th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Leaf-shaped blade with pronounced midrib, square-section neck with flared ends and thick square-section tang. 299 grams, 26.7 cm
Ex German collection, Cologne, 1980-1990s.
The spearhead belongs to the type I of tripartite spears with broad mid-rib, reinforced shaft opening to reveal the tang and rounded shoulders. The blade with curved shoulders, a sharp point and a rectangular mid-rib. Stutzinger dated these pieces to 1200-1100 B.C. -
Khazar Silver-Gilt Sword Belt Hanger
7th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £140
Formed as leaves or a flower bud with volutes emerging from a rectangular frame at the upper end, also with volutes, integral loop above; two mounting lugs to the reverse. 6.03 grams, 27 mm
Fine condition.
Acquired in the 1980s-1990s. Ex an important central London gallery, London W1.
In the development of the Seversky Donets basin, together with the Alans and other bearers of the cremation rite, archaeology confirms the presence of tribes who practiced inhumation funeral rite with the eastern orientation of the dead (Netailovsky ground burial). Elements of belt sets, typical for this period, were found in these graves. Elements of the belt set similar to those found in the burials of the Netailovsky burial ground mainly come from the so-called ‘under-barrow burials with ditches’ of the 7th - first half of the 8th centuries, identified with the Khazars proper. Floral decoration of the belt elements, like this one, can be regarded as evidence of intensive contacts between the Khazars and Byzantium.
