Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 0299
Luristan Bronze Short Sword with Integral Hilt with Crescent Pommel
14TH-10TH CENTURY B.C.
17 1/4 in. (520 grams, 43.7 cm).
A short sword or dagger with slender triangular blade, low round midrib with flat upper face, annular guard and remains of scooped shoulders, columnar grip with three gusseted hoops, crescent pommel.
Provenance
Acquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
Literature
Cf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, items 42 and 43.
Footnotes
These kind of bronze daggers or dirks, typical of Marlik culture, were cast in a one piece mould according to Negahban, although in some specimens the penannular 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.
CONDITIONVETTING:
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 0299
Luristan Bronze Short Sword with Integral Hilt with Crescent Pommel
Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
RELATED LOTS
-
Western Asiatic Bronze Short Sword with Integral Hilt with Horns
Late 2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
A bronze dagger blade with prominently curved guard, which extends out from the ricasso of the blade and partly frames the hilt, thick flat midrib extending slightly above the ricasso where it held the hilt. 466 grams, 53 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
The hilt of such swords was made separately, and unfortunately is nearly always missing from the archaeological records. Similar daggers had a northern Iranian background and excavated examples have been recorded from the South Caspian Area from Tomadjan and Ghalekuti. -
Luristan Bronze Axehead
3rd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
With a short blade flaring towards the cutting edge, rounded projection to the butt, rolled ridge around the shaft hole. 192 grams, 75 mm
UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a London gentleman.
The type corresponds to the Gernez type H.2.Fa, of axes with symmetrical collar, rear hump and rectangular blade. The exact provenance of only three axes of this type outside Luristan are known, mainly in Elam: one was found at Tepe Giyan, a second comes from a pit tomb in Susa and the last, a miniature, belongs to level VI of Tepe Gawra, dated to the last third of the 3rd millennium B.C. All the others are known as originating from Luristan. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
A piriform ceramic missile with band of S-scrolls to the shoulder, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 533 grams, 12 cm
From a military inspired collection formed from the 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.