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LOT 1466
Luristan Bronze Spike-Butted Axehead
11TH-8TH CENTURY B.C.
8 7/8 in. (478 grams, 22.5 cm).
Blade with folded upper and lower edge, cylindrical socket with projecting ribs formed as the necks and heads of birds, blace 'projecting' from the mouth of a roaring lion at the neck.
ProvenanceEx Parisian private collection.
with Cuvreau Expertises Enchères S.A., sale 60, 21 June 2009, lot 105.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11876-206787.
Cf. The British Museum, museum number 130676 for similar; cf. The Metropolitan Museum, New York, accession numbers 32.161.3 and 1988.102.2, for similar.
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LOT 1466
Luristan Bronze Spike-Butted Axehead
Estimate £3,000 - 4,000€3,480 - 4,640 (for guidance only)$4,050 - 5,400 (for guidance only)
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Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Piriform body with domed filler-hole, the upper body with impressed ring-and-dot motifs; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 415 grams, 10.6 cm
From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 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. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Blade Collection
Early 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Including four with tapering blades with broad flattened mid-ribs and rounded shoulders, tapered squared section tangs, two with tang pierced at tip; a similar blade with the tang bent at the tip; one spearhead with foliate blade and raised mid-rib; a short dagger with leaf-shaped blade and long rectangular-section tang. 528 grams total, 17.5-22.6 cm
Ex London collection, formed 1990-2000.
Moorey, Gordon and Khorasani created a classification of bladed weapons, according to which daggers are edged weapons no greater than 36cm in length, dirks (short swords) are between 36cm and 50cm in length, and swords are edged weapons greater than 50cm in length. -
Chinese Serpentine and Gilt Bronze Ceremonial Adze
Qing Dynasty, 19th-early 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
With serpentine blade, engraved with a to each fat face, the handle formed as a fenghuang perching with hoof-shaped finial; in archaic style. 736 grams, 33 cm
Acquired UK, in the 1980s. Property of a retired South West London doctor.