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LOT 1449
Luristan Socketted Bronze Axe Head
12TH-8TH CENTURY B.C.
4 1/8 in. (308 grams, 10.6 cm).
Comprising a wide curving blade and long neck with a band of herringbone decoration at the base, tubular neck with claw-like extension to the rear and a decorative diagonal band to both sides.
ProvenanceAcquired on the Swiss art market, 1997.
Private collection, Europe.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1449
Luristan Socketted Bronze Axe Head
Estimate £500 - 700€580 - 810 (for guidance only)$680 - 950 (for guidance only)
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Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
Piriform in profile with domed mouth, vertical bands of annulets to the upper body; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 396 grams, 10.6 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. -
Luristan Bronze Long Arrowhead
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
Triangular blade with raised midrib extending to the short socket with rectangular-section tang. 32 grams, 13 cm
From the private collection of John Fox, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, UK, antiquarian and archaeologist; his collection assembled in the 1950s-1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Collection
18th-7th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Including triangular, leaf-shaped, barbed, paddle-shaped with a flat, comparatively wide mid-rib, and others. 176 grams total, 33-77 mm
Ex London art market, 1980-1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Some of the represented arrowheads (paddle-shaped) 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 are comparatively common finds in the Holy Land.