Loading, please wait...

Use mousewheel to zoom in and out, click to enlarge

Details

LOT 0258

Luristan Bronze Short Sword with Inlaid Handle

1000 B.C.

19 5/8 in. (515 grams, 50 cm).

With triangular tapering blade, flanged hilt to accept inlays, bone on the handle, two angular indentations on each side of the guard.

Provenance

with Bonhams, London, 4 July 1996, no.324.
Private collection, Suffolk.

Literature

Cf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran - The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, p.378, cat.7,9.

Footnotes

This dirk is of Medvedskaya type I, a common weapon among dirks and daggers produced in Luristan. According to Moorey, such kind of daggers were produced in Western Persia at least since the 13th century B.C. and remained in use at least until the 9th century B.C. The two practically identical examples published by Khorasani are preserved in the National Museum of Teheran.

CONDITION

VETTING:

TimeLine 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:

TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.

LOT 0258

Luristan Bronze Short Sword with Inlaid Handle

Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,430

Print page

RELATED LOTS

  • Greek Lead Slingshot
    Greek Lead Slingshot
    3rd-1st century B.C.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £78

    Biconical in profile with casting seam and reserved legend 'ΛY-P-N' = maybe ΛYKOΦ-PONO = Lykophronos (name). 25.6 grams, 31 mm



    Acquired on the German art market before 2000. Private collection, Munich, Germany.

    The leaden bullets, which were thrown from slings, were called in Greek molivdainai (μολύβδαιναι), and in Latin glandes; the former indicating the material ‘lead’, the latter the shape ‘acorns’. These bullets were cast in a mould and bore letters or devices, or both, on two sides or on only one. In form they were more like an almond than an acorn, but many are pointed at both ends.

    Lot Details

  • Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Iron Stirrup
    Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Iron Stirrup
    Circa 11th century A.D.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £416

    D-shaped stirrup with square-section frame, rectangular footplate with projections to the underside, accretion to the suspension loop at the top. 948 grams, 25.5 cm high



    Found whilst searching with a metal detector in Harling, Breckland, Norfolk, on Monday 5th February 2024. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.NMS-396237.

    Lot Details

  • Luristan Bronze Short Sword
    Luristan Bronze Short Sword
    2nd-1st millennium B.C. and later

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £468

    With tapering, double-edged triangular blade and central midrib; crescent-shaped, tri-lobed guard at the shoulder; restored decorated cylindrical hilt with domed stone pommel. 878 grams, 54.2 cm



    From a North West London collection; previously acquired in the 1980s.

    Lot Details

Stay up-to-date with the latest from TimeLine Auctions by joining our mailing list