Marlik Sword with Decorated Hilt

A Colt .41 calibre single action rimfire single-shot derringer pocket pistol, the barrel top marked 'COLT' and the left frame '41 CAL'; with nickel-plated brass frame and steel rifled barrel (swivel to load) and bird's beak butt with plain wood grips; the pistol contained in an original case formed from a hollowed out leather-bound book Pratique du Sacrament de Penitence ou Methode pour L'Administrer Utilement, published Paris, 1714, the compartment lined with marbled paper with section for spare bullets; action in working order. 450 grams total, book 17 x 10 cm



Acquired Holts Auction, 2020, lot 899. Property of a Kent collector. Accompanied by lot ticket.

Sold as an exempt item under Section 58 (2) of the Firearms Act, 1968, to be held as a curiosity or ornament. No license required but buyer must be over 18 years of age.

A military assemblage comprising: a double-edged spatha with a lentoid parallel-sided iron blade and pointed tip, battle nicks to both cutting edges; long tang with a bronze fastening rivet in situ; oblate chalcedony pommel; gilt copper-alloy chape scabbard fitting with fastening holes and a pair of round scabbard or baldric fittings. 937 grams total, 5-81.3 cm

Fine condition

Acquired 1971-1972. From the collection of the vendor's father. Property of a London, UK, collector. 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 a search certificate number no.11587-198852.

Prestigious swords with richly trimmed sheaths, guards and hilts of the Great Migration Period on the Cimmerian Bosphorus are very few, although some specimens have been excavated from Kerch, Phanagoria, Hermonassa and Dzhurga-Oba. They were either custom-made or received as war booty. This sword belongs to a group of spathae of late Roman typology spread among the Germanic and Nomad foederati, and garrison troops of the Northern Black Sea and Bosphorus.

A bronze sword with solid cast hilt with penannular guard and a horizontally ribbed grip; a conical stone mushroom pommel and a multi-fullered blade tapering to a sharp tip; handle repaired. 876 grams, 56 cm



Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.

According to Moorey, such category of swords were distributed in the Northern Iran area, as proved by the Amarlu finds. Based on the example from the Ashmolean Museum, he dated them to the end of the 2nd millennium B.C., more precisely to a period between 1400-1200 B.C.