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LOT 0266
Marlik Bronze Short Sword
14TH-10TH CENTURY B.C.
17 1/4 in. (430 grams, 44 cm).
Formed with a slender triangular blade, raised midrib with flat upper face, penannular guard and scooped shoulders, columnar grip with gusseted collar; the upper grip decorated with vertical lines, the lower part with horizontal grooves; crescent pommel.
ProvenanceEx Alexander Cotton collection, Hampshire, UK 1980s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Cf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, items 41-43.
FootnotesThis short sword or dagger belongs to the category of blades with pennanular guard, with hilt and guard cast in one piece with the grip. This solid weapon has separate sets of encircling ribs on the grip. Negahban excavated similar weapons from the Marlik cemeteries, although sometimes the type combines grip and penannular guard with flanged hilts open to accept inlays.
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AUCTIONS:
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Marlik Bronze Spearhead
14th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Elongated tapering triangular blade, with broad midrib and squared shoulders slightly rounded at the corners, rectangular sectioned tang with a bent button end. 387 grams, 49 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.
The spearhead belongs to the sub-type A of the spearhead classification of Khorasani. Similar specimens, now in the National Museum of Iran, Teheran, were excavated in the Royal Cemetery of Marlik and found in tomb 5 trench 8 of that Necropolis. -
Anglo-Zulu War 'Battle of Khambula' Artefact Collection
29 March 1879 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
Comprising: a Martini-Henry brass ‘boxer’ cartridge cases, one with firing mark to the base; two lead heads of bullets fired from the Martini-Henry rifle; supplied with brass nameplate 'Anglo-Zulu War / Khambula / March 29th 1879'. 120 grams total, 3-10.1 cm
Found by Zulu natives, Khambula, South Africa, 1990s-early 2000s. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Following defeats by the Zulu army at Isandlwana and Hiobane, the British were desperate for a victory, which they secured at Khambula. -
Iberian Iron Dagger with Rivetted Hilt
2nd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,080
A pugio military dagger with waisted leaf-shaped blade, rounded midrib, rectangular rivetted baluster, short grip with crescent pommel. 235 grams, 30.6 cm
Ex North American private collection, 1970s-1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
The pugio appeared as a side weapon of the Roman legionary in the 2nd century B.C. However, its full diffusion within the Roman army begun with Caesar and Augustus, where it appeared as the reserve weapon for the heavy infantryman. The present specimen belongs to the Celtiberian tribes who fought against the Roman army in the 2nd century B.C., but represents one of the first prototypes adopted from the Iberians by the Roman legionaries.