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LOT 1535
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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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1535
Luristan Bronze Short Sword with Crescent-Shaped Pommel
Estimate £400 - 600€460 - 700 (for guidance only)$540 - 810 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£222 (EUR 258; USD 300) +BP*
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Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Collection
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Comprising fifteen tanged arrowheads, mainly leaf-shaped and barbed types. 247 grams total, 4.8-18 cm
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £5
Piriform body with dome filler-hole; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 536 grams, 12.7 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. -
Large Phoenician Bronze Arrowhead
Levant, circa 1200-1100 B.C.Estimate: £40 - 60 (+bp*)
Bids: 4 | Current Bid: £29
Broad and lentoid in section with spiked tang, elongated barbs, bulb to each face at junction with the head. 16.5 grams, 75 mm
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