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LOT 0259
Luristan Bronze Short Sword with Blood Channels
1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
20 7/8 in. (558 grams, 53 cm).
Broad two-edged blade, leaf-shaped with short rectangular tang, corrugated midrib extending almost to the tip; rounded shoulders. [No Reserve]
Provenancewith Archaeologia, Switzerland, before 1983.
Ex private North American collection.
London private collection, 2016.
See Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, s.cat 31, for type.
CONDITIONTimeLine 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:
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Mesopotamian Grey Stone Macehead
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
Biconvex in profile with low tubular socket. 442 grams, 73 mm
Ex 1990s collection and with a central London gallery. -
Highly Decorated Caucasian Bronze Helmet
6th century B.C.Estimate: £40,000 - 60,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £20,000
Formed as a domed bowl with a rivetted overlay on the top, a bird of prey finial at the crown with a raised vertical ridge before the beak; extensive decoration on the body comprising annulets, lines, ring-and-dot motifs and pointillé borders, a circumferential border of rectangular panels on the lower part of the helmet, each rectangle divided into four triangular panels with herringbone and ring-and-dot decoration; a short nose-guard beneath the raised ridge, four raised bosses flanking the ridge, depicting apotropaic eyes; the lower rim pierced for the attachment of internal lining. 650 grams, 21 cm wide
Ex German private collection, M.B., Mainz, 1980s. Acquired from the above by the current owner. 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.12902-242697.
The helmet belongs to a limited series of helmets found in the Caucasus, discovered in archaeological complexes of the Colchis-Koban Culture, adding another chapter to the history of a series of important Caucasian helmets. Its decoration rivals that of a helmet of the Krasnodar Museum, until now the most complete and decorated in this category. All the helmets of this typology were decorated according to a certain scheme, but the present helmet and the one from Krasnodar are richer in terms of symbols and ornaments. The decoration and similarity with other helmets in this series suggest that the present helmet could have been made for the military elite of the North-West Caucasus in Central Caucasian workshops. Most likely, the owner was part of the elite of the local tribes of the North-West Caucasus of the Maeotic circle. -
Roman Lead Slingshot Group
1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £247
A mixed group of four lentoid-section biconical lead slingshot, three fitted with iconic winged thunderbolts on one side, and one with the Tanit goddess symbol, possibly alluding to a Balearic-Punic origin. 155 grams total, 28-30 mm
From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman; acquired in the 1990s.
The slingshots are belonging to the type IIb of the Völling classification. The practice of inscribing slingshots developed early, in 4th century BC Greece. Most inscriptions are names (in full or abbreviated) of generals or commanders of units of slingers. Some are slogans of the contesting sides. Individual letters occasionally appear, sometimes in conjunction with a name or motif or numbers.
