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LOT 0326
Luristan Bronze Short Sword with Blood Channels
14TH-10TH CENTURY B.C.
18 1/2 in. (1.31 kg total, sword: 47 cm long).
Triangular blade with raised midrib flanked by shallow grooves extending from the integral lower-guard to the tip; the lower guard with raised coffee bean-shaped bosses to both sides; grooved handle with raised ribs and a large openwork crescentic pommel bearing a similar decoration to the blade at the top; accompanied by a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceEx Rabi Gallery, London, UK, 1980s.
From a private Surrey, UK, collection.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12606-234422.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. for similar examples, Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 1, London, 2002, p.14, no.14; Gorelik, M., Weapons of Ancient East, IV millennium BC-IV century BC, Saint Petersburg (2003) in Russian, pl.VI, no.34, from Luristan; Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 2, London, 2004, pp.23-24, no.23; Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, figs.43-44, for similar, from Marlik.
FootnotesThe now empty cavities of the handle were once filled with organic material.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0326
Luristan Bronze Short Sword with Blood Channels
Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,750
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Luristan Bronze Long Arrowhead
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
Triangular blade with raised midrib extending to the short socket with rectangular-section tang. 32 grams, 13 cm
From the private collection of John Fox, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, UK, antiquarian and archaeologist; his collection assembled in the 1950s-1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Amarlu Type Bronze Sword with Integral Hilt
10th-9th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £247
With a tapering two-edged blade with raised midrib and scaphoid lower-guard, rectangular tang with three raised collars and raised edges. 461 grams, 50 cm
Missing ear-shaped pommel
Ex London art market, 1980-1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The sword belongs to type VII of the Medvedskaya classification, characterised by ear-pommels, unfortunately here lost. These swords, usually found in the Amarlu area, had the handle cast with the blade, and the grip was solid and square, often decorated with horizontal collars. -
Large Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead and Dagger Collection
1800-700 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Including mainly triangular and leaf-shaped types of arrowheads, and two small daggers with pierced tang. 251 grams total, 10.5-17 cm
Ex London art market, 1980-1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Small tanged blades without a rivet, which have sometimes been identified as spearheads, are knives, while the rivetted form could have been used as a dagger or for domestic purposes. Both forms are characteristic of the Hyksos period in Palestine. A curious blade from Byblos (Level 19) represents the earlier form of this type.