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LOT 1446
Marlik Bronze Spearhead
14TH-10TH CENTURY B.C.
15 1/8 in. (280 grams, 38.5 cm).
With rounded shoulders and square-section mid-rib running to the tip; short tang.
ProvenanceAcquired 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.
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 Armor from Iran: The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, p.628, no.275, for type.
FootnotesThe blade belongs to the type VI of Marlik spearheads according to the Khorasani classification, with a long blade and a short tang, slightly rounded shoulders and pronounced midrib. Such spearheads have been excavated from the Marlik Royal Cemetery by Dr Negahban in Tomb 15, Trench XIII G.
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AUCTIONS:
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Large Luristan Socketted Bronze Adze
2nd-early 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
An adze-axe head with central shaft hole and curved blades, flange to socket. 570 grams, 16.5 cm
Acquired in the 1990s. 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 adze-axe was a fundamental weapon of many Bronze Age cultures around the world. The form lends itself to dual purposes - for war and peace. As a tool, it functions in fabricating wood and as a weapon, its heavy mass and compact form make it a deadly striking and chopping weapon, even able to defeat light armour. -
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Turco-Mongol 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
13th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
A hollow vessel with cylindrical body, short neck and domed mouth, impressed herringbone decoration to the body; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 452 grams, 18 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. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Blade
14th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
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. 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.
