Loading, please wait...
LOT 1424
Luristan Bronze Dirk
13TH-12TH CENTURY B.C.
13 3/8 in. (174 grams, 34 cm).
With lentoid-section blade, tongue-shaped in plan, integral tapering hilt with flared finial, lateral flanges to accept a panel of bone or wood to each face forming the grip.
ProvenanceEx Joseph J. Gancie (1923-2010), Washington, Silver Spring, Maryland.
with Alex Cooper Auctioneers Inc., sale 1035, 27 January 2013, lot 162a.
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. The Asiatic daggers of this type are confined to Syria and Persia, but Transcaucasia also provides an interesting analogy from Kalekent on the Baku peninsula, where a pointed straight-sided dagger blade has a flanged hilt with the whole of the side flanges bent over the centre.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 1424
Luristan Bronze Dirk
Estimate £300 - 400€350 - 460 (for guidance only)$410 - 540 (for guidance only)
-
.jpg)
100 Civil War Period Lead Musket Balls
Circa 17th-18th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
Mixed group of lead-alloy musket and carbine balls, some with casting seam and sprue nipple. 1.74 kg total, 9-19 mm
Found Hertfordshire, UK. -
Luristan Bronze Spike-Butted Axehead
11th-8th century B.C.Estimate: £3,000 - 4,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,500
Blade with folded upper and lower edge, cylindrical socket with projecting ribs formed as the necks and heads of birds, blace 'projecting' from the mouth of a roaring lion at the neck. 478 grams, 22.5 cm
Ex Parisian private collection. with Cuvreau Expertises Enchères S.A., sale 60, 21 June 2009, lot 105. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11876-206787. -
Large Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
A spherical ceramic missile with incised swirls to the shoulder, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 947 grams, 14.1 cm
From a military inspired collection formed from the 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.
