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LOT 1812
Luristan Bronze Dagger
13TH CENTURY B.C.
12 3/4 in. (185 grams, 32.5 cm).
With a lentoid-section blade, tongue-shaped in plan, with an integral tapering hilt with flared finial, lateral flanges to accept a panel of bone to each face forming the grip.
ProvenanceEx Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
LiteratureCf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran - The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, p.381, cat.13.
FootnotesThe art of Luristan can be described as the art of nomadic herdsmen and horsemen with an emphasis on the crafting of small, easily portable objects, among these a great number of bronze weapons. The rich and noble aristocrats of the Luristan, Elamites, Hurrians, Lullubians, Kutians, and Kassites went to battle splendidly equipped and wore magnificent bronze armour, using maces, spears and daggers as offensive weapons, alongside spears, bows and arrows.
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AUCTIONS:
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Western Asiatic Bronze Spear Blade
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
Comprising a triangular blade with a broad midrib, a short neck and a square-section tang with a bent finial. 309 grams, 32.6 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Spear Blade
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Triangular in plan with a broad, flat-section midrib, broad tip; rounded shoulders with a short pierced tang. 310 grams, 40.5 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s. -
Elamite Bronze Macehead Inscribed 'To Nin’azu, Bala, son of Lugal-kare-si'
Early Dynastic IIIB Period, circa 2500-2340 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
Comprising a cylindrical shaft with a narrow flanged base, the upper section with three vertical relief panels decorated by round spikes alternated with a wavy pattern, divided and bordered by parallel ridges, engraved with five lines of Sumerian cuneiform text around the socket, a votive inscription translating to: 'To Nin’azu, Bala, son of Lugal-kare-si, the merchant, has presented (it)'. 350 grams, 11.6 cm
Acquired before 1983. Ex London gallery, 1990s. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13257-253385.
This gorz mace head belongs to the category of truncheon-shaped mace heads, a type developed on the Iranian plateau during the Bronze Age, used by Elamite and Luristan warriors since the 3rd millennium B.C. This category of objects was also interpreted as a part of a shaft or cudgel, but most scholars agree on the interpretation of use as a mace.
