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LOT 1361
Luristan Bronze Dirk
CIRCA 1000 B.C.
15 3/8 in. (231 grams, 39 cm).
Composed of a leaf-shaped blade with a raised penannular rib and slot below the shoulder connected to the grip with lateral flanges and integral pommel, recessed to accept an organic insert. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
Cf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran - The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tuebingen, 2006, p.380, Cat.12, inventory no.655.
FootnotesThis dirk, cast in one piece mould, belongs to the daggers that Medvedskaya believes support the thesis that majority of them were cast in one piece. However, there are examples where the penannular grip was cast on later.
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Bronze Age Socketted Spearhead
Circa 19th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
With foliate blade and tapering socket. 183 grams, 25.6 cm
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
The bronze spearhead developed considerably during the period of the Assyrian colonies in Anatolia and even during the period Karum III-IV, maintaining consistently its southern shape. Conical points are also known from Bogazkoy's Karum levels. While spearheads from the first half of the 2nd millennium B.C. were hafted by means of a tang, with two slots in the blade providing additional support, most of the Late Bronze Age spearheads were socketted. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowheads, Javelin Heads and Daggers
3rd millennium-7th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Comprising ten slender tanged arrowheads, javelin heads and daggers, some lozenge-section and some with raised midribs. 329 grams total, 14-21.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
Most of these blades are bipartite, but the definition of the bipartite type is not absolute as it brings together weapons of very different and unrelated designs. In fact, some weapons do not have a sufficiently characteristic shape to be interpreted as a spear, dagger, or long arrowhead. The javelin heads classified by Gernez as type Type L 3 are characterized by the simplicity of their design. They have a sharp and/or pointed active part, a flat, elliptical or rhomboidal cross-section and an elongated tang with a rectangular, square or circular section, ending in a pointed, widened, curved or folded blade. -
Babylonian Bronze Duck-Billed Axehead
2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Duck-billed shaft-hole axehead featuring a curved, tongue-shaped blade with two voided 'eyes' and a raised median ridge; repaired. 168 grams, 10.3 cm
Collected from 1969-1999. From the collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK.