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LOT 1081
Marlik Decorated Spearhead
13TH-11TH CENTURY B.C.
12 7/8 in. (329 grams, 32.7 cm).
A bronze spearhead with long blade and broad midrib with incised decoration to each side, rectangular-section bent tang, reinforced shaft with ribbed horizontal bands interspersed with bands of geometric motifs.
ProvenanceEx S. Motamed collection.
with Bellman's Auctions, 20th-26th June 2015, lot 2482.
Property of a London gentleman.
Cf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran - The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, p.633, cat.286, for similar type.
FootnotesIn this category (Type II of the Khorasani typology) the shaft has a tang with a bend towards the end. The blade has three fullers, and the shaft is usually engraved with diagonal lines. Similar pieces were excavated by Dr Negahban in Marlik.
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AUCTIONS:
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Luristan Socketted Axe-Adze
13th-7th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £121
A substantial copper-alloy adze-axe head composed of a cylindrical socket, one blade at a right angle to the socket with tapering sides and D-section cutting edge; one blade upright with convex cutting edge. 559 grams, 16.5 cm
Fine condition.
Acquired in the 1980s. London, UK, private collection. Property of an Essex gentleman. -
Roman Legionary Helmet with Inscription
1st century B.C.Estimate: £12,000 - 17,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £6,000
A bronze Montefortino helmet with bulbous domed skull and a plain crest knob with flattened top; plain and flat neck guard with thickened rim; the front with punched Latin inscription 'A N CFN'; the surface largely covered in marine encrustations; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 2.2 kg, 28 cm (4 kg total, 45 cm high including stand)
Private Swiss collection, acquired 2001. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by searcher certificate no.11576-198953.
This Montefortino specimen belongs to type C or D of Robinson’s classification, also identified under the continental system as Buggenum. The helmets of this category, mainly legionary helmets, were produced in mass by the state to be supplied to the troops fighting in the civil wars of the 1st century B.C. Artistic sources of the same period provide evidence for the use of Montefortino and Buggenum type helmets in sea battles, which has been confirmed by archaeological finds from the Albenga ship. The legionary helmets had inscriptions punched upon them, indicating the name of the wearer and the unit, i.e. cohors, centuria or turma. Here the punched letters 'AN' refer probably to the initials of the owner (Ancus N.?), and 'CFN' to centuria of Fabius C. -
Luristan Horse Harness Cheekpiece
11th-8th century B.C.Estimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £200
A bronze cheek-piece element in the form of a righthand side bar, surmounted by two loops for additional straps, ending in a lion's head at the front, the other extremity bending outwards and ending with a conical tip, remains of the iron bar visible on the sides; once belonging to an articulate bit. 130 grams, 13.5 cm wide
Fine condition.
Acquired mid 1980s to early 1990s. Private family collection formed in London, UK.
The association of Psalia in the shape of a bar and with an articulated bit is documented in Assyria, in Media and in central Iran starting from the 10th century B.C., but the zoomorphic elements of this specimen suggest that it was produced in Luristan. The use of articulated bits, which moved inside the horse's mouth, exerting a minimal pressure on the reins, allowed for better control of the mount.
