Loading, please wait...
LOT 1465
Luristan Bronze Spearhead Group
13TH-11TH CENTURY B.C.
10 1/4 - 11 1/4 in. (300 grams total, 26.2-28.7 cm).
Comprising a tanged spearhead with heavily ridged and tapered blade, short collared shaft and square-section tapered tang bent at the tip; a spearhead with foliate narrow blade, short tang with fastening hole. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
See Khorasani M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, items 279,282, for the types.
FootnotesBoth types of spearheads were found in Amlash and Marlik, and are connected with the types 1 and 2 of the Khorasani classification. The type 1 is characterised by a bent tang and was the evolution of a typology which began much earlier in Mesopotamia and the fertile crescent, the type 4 of the Stronach classification, with a straight square-section tang, usually thickened at the base with a button tang.
CONDITIONTimeLine 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.
-
Roman 'Crown Type' Sword Hilt Guard
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Ellipsoid in section with central slot to accept the tang; scooped 'cocked hat' profile to the broad faces, with horizontal rounded band to the lower edge. 17.6 grams, 47 mm
Found Tuesday 1st April 2025 in Wenham Parva, Babergh, Suffolk, UK. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.SF-92FBDC. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
A piriform missile with domed filler-hole, and lugs to the shoulder; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 445 grams, 15 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s onwards. 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. -
Saxon Sacrificed Iron Spatha with Bronze Chape
5th-6th century A.D.Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £600
Double-edged long sword (spatha) of type Osterburken-Kemathen; the blade with squared shoulders, broken into two parts for sacrificial reasons, tapering towards the point; sturdy tang partially preserved; wooden traces of the scabbard and hilt still visible; accompanied by a bronze outer rim of a scabbard; restored. 630 grams total, 78 cm long
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
The deliberate fragmentation of a sword, often into three pieces, was a symbolic act of ‘killing’ the weapon, which was then placed as a grave good or offered in a ceremonial context. This was a Germanic custom already visible in the Vandal Przeworsk culture around the 3rd or 4th century A.D., which continued in Northern European areas until the 5th and the 6th centuries A.D.
