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LOT 0295
Luristan Bronze Short Sword
10TH CENTURY B.C.
17 3/4 in. (367 grams, 45 cm).
With triangular blade in outline and prominent mid-rib divided in three sections; square shoulders with rectangular guard; rectangular grip with openings for inlays on either side.
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
For similar examples of swords see Gorelik, M., Weapons of Ancient East, IV millennium BC-IV century BC, Saint Petersburg (2003), pl.VI, no.34 (Luristan).
FootnotesThis bronze sword has the handle cast onto the blade. The grip is flanged for accepting inlays. The blade has square shoulders and is decorated with geometric triangles. According to Moorey this type dates to the turn of 2nd millennium B.C.
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Byzantine Iron Lamellar Armour Group
Circa 12th-13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
A Byzantine or Eastern European armour group comprising 138 plates from a klivanion in forty different shapes; originally the plates would have been interlaced and attached to an undergarment to form a compact cuirass. 1.43 kg total, 4-12 cm
Good condition, extremely rare
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 no.11929-209662.
The lamellar protection was particularly effective when used by mounted troops as it provided not just protection but enabled free movement due to its loose construction. A similar type of armour was already used by the Assyrians in the 9th century B.C. Its use increased in the west during the 4th and 5th centuries A.D. As a result of changes in warfare techniques, where the archer’s role in the initial stages of the battle was of utmost importance, the use of lamellar armour was widespread amongst the Roman army and Germanic peoples. There are various ways in which the present suite of plates could have been assembled, although it was likely a short (thigh-length) form of lamellar armour. -
German Socketted Iron Halberd
15th-16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £390
With square-section body and tapering spike, lateral languets pierced for attachment to the haft, hook to the rear and thick blade with crescent recess, pierced. 756 grams, 45 cm
Ex California, USA, collection formed since the late 1960s. European art market before the late 1990s. -
Viking Age Socketted Iron Spearhead
9th-10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Type E with leaf-shaped blade with curved edges, socket tending towards a square internal cross-section and decorated with chiselled longitudinal grooves. 126 grams, 28.5 cm
Ex private collection of Mr M.B., Mainz, Germany, since the 1980s. Acquired from the above, 2004.
The spearheads of type E, of which this type is, belongs to the first group of Viking spearheads, i.e. the Frankish spearheads, which appeared between 750 and 950 A.D. These account for one third of the spears found in Viking sites; most of them are pattern forged with herringbone design.
