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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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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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Luristan Bronze Tanged Spearhead
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Featuring a slender leaf-shaped blade with a long tapering shaft and a rectnagular-section tang with a bent finial. 197 grams, 43.1 cm
Ex Abelita collection, 1990s. -
Large Byzantine Silver Archer's Ring
14th-15th century A.D.Estimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £200
Comprising a hoop with reserved triangular ornament on the edges and triangular plaque with foliage motifs, raised central panel with frond motif. 22.61 grams, 34.77 mm overall, 25.16 mm internal diameter
Acquired in the 1990s. Ex Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.
Archer rings in Late Byzantium and the medieval Balkans were connected with the employment of the powerful composite bow, but very often, in the 14th century they served as insignia of rank for aristocratic noblemen. Archaeological findings of archers’ rings originate mainly from fortified towns, including mining centres. Many were made in bone, simple in design and undecorated. In contrast, the ones made in bronze and silver were usually decorated in rather uniform style, consisting of floral motifs on the head, mostly tulip and foliage, and linear motifs around the edges. This decoration combined Turkish, Central European and Eastern Roman traditional patterns. -
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Scythian Iron Wide-Bladed Sword with Engraved Decoration
6th-5th century B.C.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £750
Double-edged blade with a triangular point and squared shoulders, vertical ornamental lines on both sides of the blade, strong hilt with an engraved wave-like decoration on one side. 603 grams, 68 cm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. 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.13300-257655.
From the 7th century B.C., the Scythian sword appears to be a two-edged, almost parallel-sided blade tapering towards the point, about 50-60 cm long, rarely reaching 70 cm in length. The present sword can be considered to be a particular type of Scythian akinakes, with strong influences from the Urartian Caucasian culture. The sword is very similar to an example from the Haimanova Mohyla barrow, and the hilt is similar to an example visible on the relief from the Yubilejnoe settlement (Lifanti-Shelekhan, 2022 figs.8,11), where swords of the Sindo-Maeotian type are depicted.
