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LOT 1768
Luristan Bronze Socketted Adze-Axehead
2ND-1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
7 1/2 in. (741 grams, 19 cm).
Comprising a triangular-section blade with a curved cutting edge and a rectangular-section blade with a gently curving cutting edge flanking a round socket.
ProvenanceEx Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
LiteratureCf. Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 2, London, 2004, item 34, p.32.
FootnotesThe adze-axe was a fundamental weapon of many Bronze Age cultures around the world. The form lends itself to dual purposes - for war and peace. As a tool, it was used for fabricating wood; as a weapon, its heavy mass and compact form make it a deadly striking and chopping weapon, even able to defeat light armour.
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AUCTIONS:
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Neo-Babylonian Chalcedony Stamp Seal with Horned Ibex
6th-4th century B.C.Estimate: £400 - 600 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £222
Tongue-shaped in profile with incuse image of an advancing ram beneath a crescent moon, arrow in the field. 4.40 grams, 18.46 mm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s.
The ibex, a wild mountain goat with distinctive curved horns, was a popular and meaningful motif in ancient Near Eastern art. It often appears in Mesopotamian and Persian imagery, where it could symbolise strength, agility, and a connection to the natural and divine worlds. In some contexts, the ibex is linked with fertility and abundance, particularly through its association with flowing water and vegetation. Its elegant form also made it well suited to small-scale objects such as seals, where its image could serve both a decorative and symbolic purpose, reflecting the beliefs and environment of the cultures that produced them. -
Western Asiatic Terracotta Vessel Attachment
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
Hollow-formed with flared conical base and rectangular upper end; applied facial features, incised saltire, domed breasts; mounted on a custom-made stand. 351 grams total, 10.96 cm including stand
Property of a North American gentleman, London, UK, 1990-2010. -
Sasanian Carnelian Gemstone of a Fantastic Creature with Pahlavi Legend
4th-5th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £494
Plano-convex in section with advancing winged and horned beast, Pahlavi legend to the border; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 0.32 grams, 10 mm
Private English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s. Private collection, London, UK.
Fanciful combinations of various human and animal heads, sometimes with the addition of other elements, are generally called grylloi. These fantastic devices were more than mere artists' fancies and were worn by the ancient Romans and others for their supposed efficacy in averting the evil eye.
