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LOT 1117
Luristan Bronze Sword Blade
1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
18 in. (445 grams, 45.5 cm).
Comprising a narrow leaf-shaped blade with midrib and lateral channels, rounded shoulders, short tang with attachment hole.
ProvenanceEx German collection, Cologne, formed 1980s-1990.
The Kusmirek Collection, UK.
Cf. Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 2, London, 2004, item 36, p.33.
FootnotesThe metalworking techniques used in making bronze weapons in early Iran were very complex. Surfaces were often finished in repoussé work, and some of the weapons were chased, others engraved. The function of the ridges here was not only decorative, however, but principally to reduce suction and thus allow the blade to be withdrawn speedily. The ruling elites of warrior horsemen were buried in the graves with their weapons and horses which are the main sources of the Luristan and North-Western bronze weapons.
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AUCTIONS:
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Medieval Iron Hand and Half Sword with Polyhedral Pommel
Late 14th-early 15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,860
Of Oakeshott's Type XVIIIa or b, cross style 11, pommel style I1; strongly tapering pointed blade with straight edges and evident battle nicks; straight cross guard, long grip and an octagonal pommel. 1.26 kg, 1 m
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
This magnificent example was well-suited to a cut-and-thrust style of fighting, a logical development of the Oakeshott XVI typology. This is mainly visible in the specimens of typology XVIIIb, typical of English effigies and brasses between 1370-1425. Because the previous types of swords were practically useless against the fully armoured man-at-arms, Western European warfare needed a sword capable of piercing the weak points of the enemy's protective equipment, leading to the development of types XV, XVI and XVII, and eventually of type XVIII. The subtypes XVIIIa and b had a longer blade, and type XVIIIb was a very long-gripped bastard sword. This word (often referred to as ‘hand-and-a-half sword’) was applied through the late Middle Ages to the long-gripped weapons. Marc de Vulson, writing on the occasion of a duel fought in 1549 before Henry II of France, stated 'Deux epées bâtardes, pouvant servir à une main ou à deux' (two bastard swords able to serve with one hand or with two). -
Achaemenid Bronze Arrowhead Group
6th-4th century B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Comprising 29 shafted trilobate and pyramidal points, some with barbs. 108 grams total, 23-36 mm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
The Persians used the bow to forge their empire. They would have used bronze or iron arrows of various types which varied in length from three to four centimetres. Many were trilobite in shape, varying from the simple triangular head, the leaf-shaped head or the triangular head with square-section, tang and directional plumes. The old types, created by the Luristan armourers, were still in use in the Achaemenid period. -
Medieval Single-Handed Long Sword with Crosses
Mid 10th-mid 12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,460
With a broad tapering blade, the wide and shallow fullers with inlaid decoration to both sides comprising a Greek cross within a circle, a cross potent and a wheel; long, straight guard and a short grip with a plain Brazil nut pommel. 1.31 kg, 101 cm
Ing Peter Till collection, Austria 1990s. UK collection, 2000s. Property of an East Sussex, UK, teacher. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The sword is of Oakeshott Type Xa or XI and Petersen Type X. According to Oakeshott (1960, p.204) the swords of type X were a development of Viking sword type VIII with slight modifications. Oakeshott describes such swords as common in the late Viking age (late 10th century) and remaining in use until the first quarter of the 13th century.
