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LOT 1095
Luristan 'Cotton Reel' Pommel Sword
13TH-6TH CENTURY B.C.
20 in. (725 grams, 51 cm).
A bronze sword with a broad double-edged blade with a central ridge on both sides, square bronze hilt with goblet-shaped pommel surmounted by a disc.
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
Cf. Vahdati, A.A., 'Marlik and Toul-E Talish: a dating problem' in Iranica Antiqua, vol.XLII, 2007, pp.125-138, figs.2, 6, 9, 10.
FootnotesBimetallic swords (some examples are entirely cast in iron and others entirely cast in bronze) with disc pommel, slender cylindrical grip and tapering blades of this type are among the most common types of daggers / swords in Northern Iranian graveyards. This type has occasionally been referred to as the 'cotton reel' pommel, as below the flat circular pommel there is a second, a rather wide disc, and a plain or incised cylindrical grip in between.
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AUCTIONS:
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Western Asiatic 'Crescentic' Axehead
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Opening Bid: £100
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Eastern European Silver Inlaid War-Hammer
16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £598
A copper-alloy war-hammer composed of ellipsoidal socket, waisted butt with shallow conical face and tapering, lozenge-section head, inlaid with a silver 'net' design. 453 grams, 18.5 cm
Private collection of Mr M.B., Mainz, Germany, 1990s. Property of a London businessman. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11203-186235.
The name obuch is Polish and means 'the blind end of an axe', but already at the beginning of the 15th century it meant a [unspecified] war hammer. According to Polish sources of 17th century, the war-hammer could have been formed into the shape of an axe (czekan), or in the form of a thick, slightly sloping spike (nadziak), or curved like a round cracknel (obuch). A 17th century description states: 'It was a terrible instrument in the hand of a Pole...With the sabre one could cut off somebody’s hand, cut the face, injure the head, and the running blood of the adversary would calm down the rancour. But with the obuch one could cause a deadly wound without even seeing the blood, and – not seeing it – he would not calm down instantly, but would strike several times without cutting the skin, breaking ribs and bones at the same time.'
