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LOT 1394
Luristan Bronze Socketted Spearhead
13TH-6TH CENTURY B.C.
9 1/2 in. (155 grams, 24 cm).
With broad leaf-shaped blade and tapering tubular socket.
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
Cf. Overlaet, B., ‘Luristan metalwork in the Iron Age’ in Stöllner, T., Slotta, R. & Vatandoust, A., (eds.), Persiens Antike Pracht. Bergbau - Handwerk – Archäologie, Bochum, 2004, pp. 328-338, fig.7, p.335; Khorasani M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, pp.242-243.
FootnotesThe spear belongs to the type VIII classified by Khorasani (spearheads with well-projecting midribs and long folded sockets) and more specifically to subtype C (with leaf-shaped blade and short hollow socket). Usually the willow-leaf blade has an almost straight shoulder base and a wide, flat midrib tapering towards the point.
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LOT 1394
Luristan Bronze Socketted Spearhead
Estimate £100 - 140€120 - 160 (for guidance only)$140 - 190 (for guidance only)
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Western Asiatic Copper Flat Axe
2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Flat in section with rounded butt and flared blade. 152 grams, 17.2 cm
From an old English collection formed in the 1980s. Property of an Essex gentleman; acquired on the UK art market. -
Large Luristan Bronze Socketted Axe-Adze
13th-7th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
With tapering socket and flared rim to the mouth, vertical axe-blade with curved cutting edge, horizontal adze blade of similar proportions. 1.14 kg, 24 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
The earliest axe-adzes from the 3rd millennium B.C. were weapons and tools furnished with socketted holes. Usually the socket is a more secure way of attaching the object to a wooden haft than having a tang. These weapons developed into a range of different forms in the 2nd millennium B.C., which were used until at least 800 B.C. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
Piriform body with domed filler-hole, shoulders decorated with row of geometric patterns, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 484 grams, 11.8 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. 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.
