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LOT 1441
Luristan Long Sword with Handle
CIRCA 9TH-8TH CENTURY B.C.
30 in. (809 grams, 76.3 cm).
With a slender double-edged blade and a narrow handle with conical pommel.
ProvenanceEx Deutsch Auctioneers, Vienna, 25 February 2020, no.7.
with Galerie Rhéa, Zurich, Switzerland.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
See Gorelik, M., Weapons of Ancient East, IV millennium BC-IV century BC, Saint Petersburg, 2003, pl.VI, no.47, XIV, no.44.
FootnotesThe Luri people produced a quantity of fine metalwork, which according to Dr Khorasani, could be due to a settled period which arose as a result of the defeat of the Elamites by the Babylonians, leaving the Luristani people in relative peace for a period of time after 1200 BC. According to Khorasani, 'A culture of innovation and experimentation flourished, and the repertoire of the Luristan smiths expanded in the period between 1150–1050 BC.'
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AUCTIONS:
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Ibero-Celtic Style Iron Falcata with Inlaid Decoration
19th century A.D. or earlierEstimate: £800 - 1,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £400
A single-edged machaira sword of falcata typology, the hilt formed as a gracefully curving horse's head and neck, the blade with deep grooves, inlaid with geometric ornaments on the hilt and blade. 771 grams, 57.7 cm
Ex White Collection, England, 1970s. The Bonnhauser Collection, Zurich, 2003. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Since the 5th-4th century BC, the Iberian warriors armed themselves with round shields and single-edged swords (falcatas), gradually adopting the appearance of hoplite armies and the Etruscan version of the machaira. The latter type of sword was duly transformed into a completely new type, with a different size, shape and function, the falcata, which was already in use in the Iberian area by c. 490 BC. This falcata, a type of curved, one-edged sword of supposedly Greek origin, is generally accepted by the scholars as the 'national' weapon of the Iberians, usually suspended on the left side of the warrior, inside a sheath to which sometimes was attached a short knife. It was a terrible cut-and-thrust sword, with an average blade length of 45 cm. -
Greek Period High Quality Large Bronze Arrowhead Collection
5th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Socketted with leaf-shaped, triangular-section, barbed and other types. 49 grams total, 30-47 mm
From an English collection formed before 2000. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Piriform in profile with domed mouth; annulets to the upper body, lower body with vertical lines separated by triple crescents; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 409 grams, 11.4 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.
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.
