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LOT 1670
Luristan Decorated Bronze Axehead
CIRCA 12TH-8TH CENTURY B.C.
5 1/2 in. (236 grams, 14.1 cm).
Wedge-shaped blade and a cylindrical socket with collared base and an upper face of stylised zoomorphic form, possibly representing a moufflon with jutting muzzle and horns above represented by a single scroll; the blade long, with a slightly convex blunt edge. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
Ex TimesAncient, Bristol, UK.
Accompanied by a copy of a previous catalogue entry.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Cf. Mahboubian, H., Art of Ancient Iran, copper and bronze, London, 1997, p.166, fig.172b, for similar.
FootnotesThe moufflon is a regularly used symbol in Luristan art.
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AUCTIONS:
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Western Asiatic Bronze Blade
14th-10th century B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
The leaf-shaped ovate blade with rounded, gently curved shoulders and raised midrib, flat rectangular-sectioned tang tapering to a bent end with the remains of a fastening button. 348 grams, 34 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Similar spearheads were excavated in the Marlik Royal cemetery by Dr Negahban, see for example in tomb 47, Trench XXIIE. They were the evolution of a typology which began much earlier in Mesopotamia and the fertile crescent, the type 4 of the Stronach classification, with straight square-section tang, usually thickened at the base with a button tang. The foliate blade was wide and exaggerated in some specimens excavated at Marlik. -
Luristan Bronze Short Sword with Blood Channels
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £390
A two-edged leaf-shaped blade with short rectangular tang, corrugated midrib extending almost to the tip and flared at the shoulder. 342 grams, 48 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Luristan was hardly an ethnic or political entity, but the people of Luri had relations through warfare and trade with Sumerians, Lullubi, Assyrians, Babylonians and Elamites in a large time period, spanning from the 3rd to the 2nd millennium B.C. The ruling elites of warrior horsemen were buried in the graves with their weapons and horses. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
A large piriform missile with raised lugs and impressed teardrop-shaped motifs to the body, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 1.19 kg, 17.5 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 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'. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
