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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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Western Asiatic Bronze Short Sword with Integral Hilt
Late 3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Estimate: £150 - 200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £80
With a broad, lentoid-section flat blade, rounded tip, sloping sides, well marked shoulders with short, wide tang. 881 grams, 42 cm
Acquired on the UK art market before 2000. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The sword has similarities with a specimen from the Royal Cemetery of Ur. This is the most primitive form of dagger, consisting of a simple, pointed blade having slightly convex outline shoulders sloping to a short tang which has no rivets, and was probably hafted to wood with bitumen. -
Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Collection
14th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
A group of large tanged arrowheads, mainly of triangular type with some barbed examples. 288 grams total, 6.4-16.9 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.
Although some of them are different in shape, these arrowheads are apparently related types of a polythetic group. Two basic deltoid forms are represented: one has a sharp, flat blade, the ends of which extend to form wings or barbs, and a prominent midrib extending into a long tang that often has a stop; the blade shape varies from deltoid to more triangular. The other form has no barbs, but it has a prominent midrib extending to the tang, and a narrow leaf-shaped blade. -
Luristan Bronze Spearhead
Early 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
Having foliate blade with central rib and slender shoulders, short rectangular shaft and tang with a bent end. 412 grams, 42.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
A number of similar blades, some considered to be spearheads and others to be daggers, all with bent tang, derived from Tepe Hissar Culture III. Some of them, like our specimen, have a button terminal, some others have a plain, pointed terminal. The general dating of these specimens is fixed to the early 2nd millennium B.C.
