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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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Western Asiatic 'Crescentic' Axehead
1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
A bronze axehead with slender tubular socket, horizontal upper cheek and curved lower one, scooped profile to blade with convex cutting edge. 330 grams, 12.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Eastern European Silver Inlaid War-Hammer
16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £598
A copper-alloy war-hammer composed of ellipsoidal socket, waisted butt with shallow conical face and tapering, lozenge-section head, inlaid with a silver 'net' design. 453 grams, 18.5 cm
Private collection of Mr M.B., Mainz, Germany, 1990s. Property of a London businessman. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11203-186235.
The name obuch is Polish and means 'the blind end of an axe', but already at the beginning of the 15th century it meant a [unspecified] war hammer. According to Polish sources of 17th century, the war-hammer could have been formed into the shape of an axe (czekan), or in the form of a thick, slightly sloping spike (nadziak), or curved like a round cracknel (obuch). A 17th century description states: 'It was a terrible instrument in the hand of a Pole...With the sabre one could cut off somebody’s hand, cut the face, injure the head, and the running blood of the adversary would calm down the rancour. But with the obuch one could cause a deadly wound without even seeing the blood, and – not seeing it – he would not calm down instantly, but would strike several times without cutting the skin, breaking ribs and bones at the same time.' -
Marlik Spearhead with Pronounced Ridge
14th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £114
A heavy bronze spearhead comprising an oval blade with gently curved shoulders and strong midrib, flat rectangular-section tang tapering to a curved end. 432 grams, 45.8 cm
Fine condition.
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980-2015.
The spearhead belongs to the type V of the heavy spearheads, similar to the ones excavated by Dr. Negahban in Tomb 47 (Trench XXIIE) of the Marlik necropolis. The heavy spearheads, cast in one piece, usually have an oval blade with rounded gently curved shoulders and a rounded midrib near the tang.
