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LOT 0249
Luristan Bronze Dagger
13TH CENTURY B.C.
12 7/8 in. (255 grams, 32.7 cm).
With a lentoid-section blade, tongue-shaped in plan, with an integral tapering hilt with flared finial, lateral flanges to accept the remains of a panel of cream-coloured stone to each face which would have formed the grip.
ProvenanceAcquired on the UK art market, 1990s.
Private collection, New York, USA.
Cf. 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 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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Luristan Bronze Tanged Spearhead
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Featuring a slender leaf-shaped blade with a long tapering shaft and a rectnagular-section tang with a bent finial. 197 grams, 43.1 cm
Ex Abelita collection, 1990s. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
Piriform body with domed filler-hole; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 787 grams, 12.9 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s. 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'.
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. -
Greek Lead Slingshot Collection
3rd-2nd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £546
Mainly biconical types, some with raised lettering and other ornament; supplied with old collector's record tickets. 411 grams total, 29-32 mm
Acquired on the UK art market before 2000. Property of a Middlesex gentleman.
