Loading, please wait...

Use mousewheel to zoom in and out, click to enlarge

Details

LOT 1114

Luristan Bronze Short Sword Blade

EARLY 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.

16 5/8 in. (472 grams, 42.2 cm).

Triangular with thick rectangular-section midrib, rounded shoulders, narrow tip, short tang with inserted fixing pin for the organic grip.

Provenance

Ex German collection, Cologne, 1980-1990s.

Literature

Cf. Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 1, London, 2002, p.34, no.31.

Footnotes

This tanged bronze blade from Luristan belongs to a category of Luristan swords still in use in Achaemenid Period, as proved from a blade with a perished handle (probably bone or wood) of the same type, in the National Museum of Iran (2694/15633). Examples without inscriptions like our model have been classified by Grotkamp-Schepers in the Solingen Museum as pieces from Luristan.

CONDITION

VETTING:

TimeLine 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 1114

Luristan Bronze Short Sword Blade

Sold for (Inc. bp): £130

Print page

RELATED LOTS

  • Viking Age Bronze Sword Scabbard Chape Collection
    Viking Age Bronze Sword Scabbard Chape Collection
    9th-11th century A.D.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £715

    Comprising: one heater-shaped with openwork raven motif to each face; one similar with openwork raven enmeshed in tendrils; one with fleur-de-lys to the centre of each upper edge and a lobed spur to each side; one with openwork quatrefoil to each face and knop finial to the apex. 145 grams total, 55-85 mm



    From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.

    Lot Details

  • German M1884/98 Third Model Bayonet and Scabbard
    German M1884/98 Third Model Bayonet and Scabbard
    Dated 1940 A.D.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £55

    Comprising a knife bayonet for use with the Second World War 8 mm Mauser Kar 98k rifle; fitted with resin grip scales and spring release button; scabbard with original throat and chape. 588 grams, 40.5 cm



    Property of a Luton, UK gentleman, by inheritance.

    The bayonet offered here is an example of the third pattern of bayonet manufactured in 1927-1930 and again in the period 1934-1935, with this specific example having been produced in 1935. In an attempt to keep their identities a secret, the makers of these weapons stamped the blades with a letter/number code, a practice they repeated for the scabbards. This scabbard bears the code for 1943, although it was double struck. Both blade and scabbard in this instance were produced by E. & F. Horster & Co. of Solingen, and the weapon is apparently a pre-war example that was captured and reworked in eastern Europe, likely Yugoslavia. The plastic grips such as those used on our bayonet, and typically found on M1884/98 III bayonets, are made from a phenolic resin. Owing to a shortage of such resin in Germany during WWII a substitute moulding compound known as type 41, which contained a much lower percentage of resin, was adopted in January 1943.

    Lot Details

  • Mongol Silver Belt Mount Group
    Mongol Silver Belt Mount Group
    13th century A.D.

    Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)

    Opening Bid: £89

    Each with a broader scooped edge tapering to a volute flourish, pellets adorning the perimeter, three medial circular dimples, fourth dimple to the scrolled end, against a field of foliate scrolls and niello fill; each with a set of mounting lugs to the reverse. 25.7 grams total, 40-41 mm

    Fine condition.

    Acquired in the 1980s-1990s. Ex an important central London gallery, London W1.

    Similar plaques have been found in the burial graves of Mongol commanders and their wives, probably once part of a waist belt from which the sabre and other weapons were hanging. They were found together with arms, unique elements of the costume of fabric and leather, and splendid jewellery of gold and silver.

    Lot Details

Stay up-to-date with the latest from TimeLine Auctions by joining our mailing list