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LOT 1433
Luristan Bronze Tanged Arrowhead
2ND-1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
5 1/4 in. (41.6 grams, 13.5 cm).
With broad heater-shaped head and barbs to the rear, square shoulder and narrow tang. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceProperty of the vendor's grandfather, thence by family descent, circa 1985.
From the private collection of a New York, USA gentleman.
Cf. Khorasani M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, cat.466, for similar.
FootnotesThe arrowhead resembles a stylised bird's head, according to classification by Khorasani. This was a type of decorative arrowheads, belonging to the typology of barbed arrowheads.
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Old Babylonian Bronze Arrowhead Collection
1800-1500 B.CSold for (Inc. bp): £364
Comprising paddle-shaped arrowheads with a flat, comparatively wide mid-rib. 177 grams total, 57-80 mm
UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a London gentleman.
These kind of arrowheads were typical of the Old Babylonian Empire. The shoulders were pronounced and the arrowhead had a rectangular-section tapering tang. This simple form was popular throughout and show comparative common finds in the Holy Land. -
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Sarmatian Bronze Belt Clasp with Hare and Hound
Circa 3rd-2nd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Openwork rectangular panel with hare-and-hound motif, two lateral fixing lugs. 19.2 grams, 60 mm
Property of the vendor's grandfather, thence by family descent, circa 1985. From the private collection of a New York, USA gentleman.
Belt plaques with zoomorphic motifs illustrate not only the recognised unity of the zoomorphic art of the steppes, but also the links between the Sarmatians and the eastern nomadic groups. Important in this respect are similar buckles with representations of camels (Krasnogorovka III, Kurgan 11) or Ordos-style bronze plaques from the Kuban. -
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 decorated with vertical rows of pellets separated by deep grooves; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 444 grams, 10.2 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.
