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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.
ProvenanceEx German collection, Cologne, 1980-1990s.
LiteratureCf. Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 1, London, 2002, p.34, no.31.
FootnotesThis 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.
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Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
Pear-shaped ceramic vessel with domed filler-hole; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 640 grams, 13.5 cm
Ex London, UK, collection, 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. Such were the γανωτα, vessels (sometimes also of bronze) used for Greek fire. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form. -
Post Medieval Iron Sword Group
18th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Comprising mostly military weapons: a bayonet; sabre; two swords. 3.5 kg total, 89-110 cm
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection.
One of the swords shows analogies with post-1846 Wilkinson types, regulation steel hilt and steel scabbard with two loose rings. The Wilkinson style officers' blade was a compromise cut and thrust sabre blade with a fuller (groove), found on huge numbers of antique British military officers' swords. It replaced the pipeback blade previously used on officers' swords. -
Luristan Arrowhead Collection
14th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
Comprising leaf-shaped and triangular, tanged and barbed arrowheads. 70 grams total, 9.1-12.4 cm
English private collection, acquired 1970s. The Kusmirek Collection, UK.
The arrowheads correspond to the classification of the arrowheads with elongated triangular shape with barbed shoulders and lanceolate head with rounded shoulders from the category type V, according to the studies of Khorasani and the excavations in Negahban.
