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LOT 1871
Luristan Bronze Short Sword with Crescent-Shaped Pommel
10TH CENTURY B.C.
15 3/4 in. (450 grams, 40 cm).
Comprising a triangular blade with integral ribbed handle and a crescentic pommel.
ProvenanceEx Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
LiteratureCf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran - The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, p.380, cat.43. for a similar type from Marlik.
FootnotesThese kinds of bronze daggers or dirks, typical of Marlik culture, were cast in a one piece mould according to Negahban, although in some specimens the guard was later cast into the blade. The separate sets of encircling ribs on the grips are again typical of swords from the Marlik area. In our specimen the grip is opened on one side to receive organic filling.
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LOT 1871
Luristan Bronze Short Sword with Crescent-Shaped Pommel
Estimate £500 - 700€580 - 810 (for guidance only)$680 - 950 (for guidance only)
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Luristan Bronze Socketted Adze-Axehead
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Short tubular socket with thickened rim, perpendicular short blade with convex cutting edge to the rear, and a larger triangular-section blade with curving blade to the front. 675 grams, 16.5 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
The earliest axes-adzes from the 3rd millennium B.C. were weapons and tools furnished with socket holes. Usually, the socket is a more secure way of attaching the object to a wooden haft than having a simple tang. These weapons developed into a plethora of forms in the 2nd millennium B.C., and the numerous new forms were used until at least 800 B.C. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
Ovoid body with impressed dot decoration, domed filler hole; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 360 grams, 12.1 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 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. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Collection
14th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Mixed group of tanged arrowheads, nine with barbed shoulders, two with lanceolate heads, three with triangular heads, one spiked and one with a pyramidal head. 159 grams total, 4.2-10.3 cm
London, UK, collection, 1990s.
The majority of the arrowheads belong to type IV of the Khorasani classification. They resemble a stylised flying bird, such as a swallow.
