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LOT 1070
Luristan Dagger with Decorated Hilt
9TH-8TH CENTURY B.C.
14 1/2 in. (322 grams, 37 cm).
A bronze dagger with a tapering triangular blade, the handle with three raised concentric bands, crescent-shaped pommel.
ProvenanceEx S. Motamed collection.
with Bellman's Auctions, 20th-26th June 2015, lot 2482.
Property of a London gentleman.
Cf. for a parallel (in iron) Vanden Berghe L., ‘Excavations in Pusht-i Kuh (Iran) Tombs Provide Evidence on Dating "Typical Luristan Bronzes"’ in Archaeology, June, 1971, pp.263-271, fig.10, p.265.
FootnotesSeveral similar iron daggers were discovered during excavations at War Kabud. Differently from the bronze specimens, where the handle is ribbed, the iron specimens have bronze nails for fastening of the wooden grip on either side.
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AUCTIONS:
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Viking Period Danish Type Broad Axehead
Circa 10th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
An iron broad axehead of asymmetrical profile with reinforced curved cutting edge, triangular-section socket with flanking spurs to upper and lower edges. 387 grams, 15.7 cm
Acquired 1971-1972. From the collection of the vendor's father. Property of a London, UK, collector.
The broad axe of type M is a weapon specifically designed as battle-axe with the edge, being Þunssleginn, i.e. thinly forged. These broad axes were the prerogative of the housecarls of the Anglo-Danish King Canute, of the guardsmen fighting with Harold at Stamford Bridge and Hastings in 1066 A.D. and of the famous Varangian Guard of the Roman emperors of Constantinople. -
Viking Age Sword with Three-Lobed Pommel
Early 11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,940
A double-edged cutting sword of Oakeshott Type XII with inlaid hilt and tapering blade with shallow fullers; the lower guard gently curving and decorated with copper inlaid dots, upper guard and three-lobed pommel with similar decoration, traces of silver inlay to the hilt. 720 grams, 90 cm long
Acquired 1971-1972. From the collection of the vendor's father. Property of a London, UK, collector. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by searcher certificate no.11575-198856.
The sword belongs to the Type XII of the Oakeshott classification (Oakeshott, 1998, pp.37ff.), the characteristics of which are a broad, flat, evenly tapering blade, generally with a good sharp point and tending to widen perceptibly below the hilt. After the publication of the Finnish specimen, Peirce, due to the inlaid inscriptions of this latter, noted a close parallel, both in style and content, with a sword in the Schweizerischen Landesmuseum in Zurich. In the expanded context including the example from Finland, Peirce was able to re-date them to the 11th century. -
Luristan Sword with Blood Channels
Late 2nd-early 1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £500
A tanged bronze sword of triangular shape with multiple fullers tapering to a pointed tip, the tang forming an extension of the thick ridged midrib. 295 grams, 42 cm
Exceptional quality.
with John Hewitt. Ex Maurice Braham, acquired from the above. Lord Alistair McAlpine collection.
The blade belongs to a sword probably made in a Luristan workshop, once fitted with a conical pommel and a crescentic guard. The metalworking techniques used in making bronze weapons in Luristan were very complex. Surfaces were often finished in repoussé work, and some of the weapons were chased, others engraved.
