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LOT 0301
Luristan Bronze Horse Bit with Animals
CIRCA 11TH-7TH CENTURY B.C.
6 7/8 in. (690 grams, 17.5 cm wide).
Comprising a pair of ram-shaped cheek-pieces with a hole through the body for the straight mouthpiece with looped terminals.
ProvenanceFrom a collection formed in Paris in the 1990s.
LiteratureCf. similar horsebits in Moorey, P.R.S., Ancient Bronzes from Luristan, London, 1974, pls.VI-VII; Musee' Cernuschi, Bronzes de Luristan, enigmes de l'Iran Ancien, IIIe-Ier millenaire av. J.C., Paris, 2008, pp.110ff, nos.68ff, for similar types.
FootnotesThe horse bits were transformed by Luristan people in to expressions of applied art. Metalworkers employed animal motifs, both realistic and imaginary, for their cheek-pieces. The question of whether these horse bits were for real use or only for use in a funerary context is superfluous, as signs of wear have been documented, and the goads and loops on interiors are functionally designed. The use of such horse bits is clearly documented in Assyrian reliefs of the time of Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.).
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LOT 0301
Luristan Bronze Horse Bit with Animals
Estimate £1,500 - 2,000€1,740 - 2,320 (for guidance only)$2,030 - 2,700 (for guidance only)
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Western Asiatic Bronze Dagger
2nd millennium B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
With a narrow pointed blade and wide raised flange down centre, straight sides, well marked shoulders with narrow tang, one hole for rivet. 128 grams total, 17.6 cm high including stand
From the possessions of a member of a German princely family, gathered in the late 19th century, until the 1930s. with Auction House CUSP, Vienna, Auction Antique Art from Asia and from the Eastern Mediterranean, 16 June 2012, lot 75 [Part].
The type was technically more advanced than previous types of blades in the Near East, owing to the shape of the weapon, with its slightly convex sides widening out near the point, which combined the advantages of the leaf-shaped and straight-sided forms. -
100 Civil War Period Lead Musket Balls
Circa 17th-18th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Mixed group of lead-alloy musket and carbine balls,some with casting seam and sprue nipple. 1.57 kg total, 9-19 mm
Found Hertfordshire, UK. -
Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Group
12th-9th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Comprising arrowheads of various types, mainly leaf-shaped and barbed types, with midribs. 216 grams total, 12.2 - 18 cm
Acquired 1990s. From the collection of a late Japanese weaponry collector.
The barbed arrowhead seems to belong to the type V, subcategory type C, according to the classification of Khorasani and Negahban. In the four categories of triangular bronze arrowheads from Luristan, Marlik and Northern Iran individuated by Negahban, subtypes C and D of type V are larger arrow or javelin heads, C large triangular arrowheads with barbed shoulders and D with lanceolate shape and rounded midrib. The straight shoulders recalls a Marlik typology (see Khorasani, 2006, p.307, fig.379).