Loading, please wait...

Use mousewheel to zoom in and out, click to enlarge

Details

LOT 1156

Medieval Eastern European Iron Macehead

14TH-15TH CENTURY A.D.

2 1/2 in. (828 grams, 64 mm wide).

Displaying shallow striations running vertically around the body; cylindrical socket.

Provenance

Acquired 1990s-early 2000s.
East Anglian private collection.

Literature

Cf. Milovanic, D., Metalwork in Serbia (in Serbian), Belgrade, 1986, fig.342, for similar specimen.

Footnotes

This kind of later maces, typical of 15th century, had irregularly shaped heads, with spheres having holes for the insertion of the shaft. Incised, parallel strips formed a cross ornament running horizontally and vertically. Grooved lines were carved in the fields between.

CONDITION

VETTING:

TimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process


AUCTIONS:

TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.

LOT 1156

Medieval Eastern European Iron Macehead

Sold for (Inc. bp): £117

Print page

RELATED LOTS

  • Medieval Schiavonesca Type Iron Sword with Inlay
    Medieval Schiavonesca Type Iron Sword with Inlay
    14th-15th century A.D.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,600

    Comprising a broad, double-edged blade with rounded tip, shallow central fuller to the upper third of both sides; flat guard with stepped central panel, D-section arms formed in a horizontal S-curve, 'cat's head' truncated type pommel with an integral central boss to both faces; the tang with a sword-shaped stamp, the blade with an inlaid three-armed workshop mark and another stamp, including a V surmounted by a cross. 1.37 kg, 1.18 m

    Restored and protected with a possible vertical suspension in acid solution, on the blade traces of delamination and flaking along the pattern-welds, some corrosion damages but in general very good condition.

    From an English collection, acquired 1990s. The Kusmirek Collection, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11771-203963.

    The Schiavonesca sword was used by Dalmatian mercenaries serving in the Venetian state armies, and were produced by the workshops of the Serenissima to which the marks probably belong. Many of these swords were produced in Dubrovnik, a Croatian city under the Venetian rule. Dr Aleksić mentions the swordsmith Radonja Vukotić, who made an agreement with blacksmith Andrija Miletin at the beginning of September 1436, to produce swords together in the following year.

    Lot Details

  • English Medieval Iron Kidney Dagger
    English Medieval Iron Kidney Dagger
    Late 15th-early 16th century A.D.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170

    Comprising a single-edged blade, whittle tang and cylindrical grip terminating in a bulbous openwork pommel. 178 grams, 31 cm



    Acquired 1960s-1990s. Late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister.

    Carried universally throughout Europe, the kidney dagger or ballock dagger (dague a rognons) seems to have been used by all classes of society. Early effigies and brasses prove that the ballock dagger was a knightly weapon. Later on, the more elaborate daggers suggest that it was also a weapon of the emerging merchant and artisan classes. Of course there are also some very simple and crude examples which would probably have been used by the peasants.

    Lot Details

  • Medieval Iron Arrowhead Group
    Medieval Iron Arrowhead Group
    12th-15th century A.D.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £117

    Comprising tanged and socketted arrowheads with triangular, leaf-shaped and barbed examples. 40 grams total, 5-10.7 cm



    From a private European collection, formed in the 1980s. Acquired from TimeLine Auctions, 2016, lot 72. The Kusmirek Collection, UK.

    Lot Details

Stay up-to-date with the latest from TimeLine Auctions by joining our mailing list