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LOT 1510
Luristan Bronze Dagger
13TH-6TH CENTURY B.C.
12 1/4 in. (196 grams, 31 cm).
Double-edged triangular blade, integral hilt with lateral flanges with remains of bone handle.
ProvenanceFrom the estate of a deceased gentleman, Surrey, UK, 1980s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran - The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, p.377, cat.6.
FootnotesThe dirk belongs to the type III in the Medvedskaya classification, used in Near East from the 13th to the 6th century B.C. The type is the 32a of the Maxwell-Hyslop study.
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Hellenistic Bronze Cuirass Section
3rd-1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Possible flank right element of a composite cuirass for a kataphraktos (armoured horseman), part of the edge still preserved on three sides, fastening holes and part of the clasps for attaching the piece to the other parts of armour still visible. 301 grams, 21 cm
UK private collection, acquired in 1996. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
A near complete armour for cataphract was found in a French excavation in Al-Khanoum, a Hellenistic city in Afghanistan. The cavalry of Seleucid, Ptolemaic and other Hellenistic Kingdoms formed regiments of heavy armoured horsemen, who in the west, employed a combination of lamellar and segmented armour together with muscled armour of Greek type. Cataphract armour in the west had more Greek elements, for example more plate armour and less scale and lamellar. -
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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. -
North-Western Persian Type Bronze Blade
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With tapering triangular blade, having straight shoulders, flat midrib and tapering square-sectioned tang ending with a rounded pommel. 99 grams, 33 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.
Moorey, Gordon and Khorasani created a classification of bladed weapons, according to which daggers are edged weapons not greater than 36cm in length, dirks (short swords) are between 36cm and 50cm in length, and swords are edged weapons greater than 50cm in length.