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LOT 0317
Luristan Bronze Long Sword with Double-Edged Blade and Domed Pommel
CIRCA 1200 B.C.
25 3/4 in. (1.12 kg, 65.5 cm).
With a tapering, double-edged, triangular blade and three-column midrib; crescent-shaped guard at the shoulder; cylindrical hilt with grips, domed pommel with recesses for inlay.
ProvenanceEx German collection.
with Hermann Historica, Munich, Germany, 2008.
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, cat.35, for type.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0317
Luristan Bronze Long Sword with Double-Edged Blade and Domed Pommel
Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,560
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Greek Lead Slingshot with Trident of Poseidon
3rd-1st century B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Biconical in profile with casting seam and low relief trident motif to one face. 33.4 grams, 31 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. -
Late Roman Iron-Shafted Lead Plumbata
Circa 3rd-7th century A.D.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £150
Comprising a barrel-shaped lead body with a round-section shaft with a barbed finial. 67.4 grams, 13 cm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
Lead-weighted darts known as plumbatae mamillatae (or 'breasted javelin') were short darts mounted upon a shaft of the same shape, and thrown from a short distance. A Roman soldier would typically carry around 5-6 of these darts at any one time, fastened to the back of his shield. They could be thrown overhand or underhand, with an effective throwing range of up to 60 metres by trained soldiers. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Piriform in profile with linear decoration on the body; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 680 grams, 13.8 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.
