Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 1059
Medieval Iron Anti-Cavalry Caltrop Group
13TH-15TH CENTURY A.D.
3 1/8 - 3 3/8 in. (250 grams total, 79-84 mm).
Comprising eight caltrops, hand-forged with square-section spikes. [8, No Reserve]
Provenance
Acquired 1971-1972.
From the collection of the vendor's father.
Property of a London, UK, collector.
Literature
Cf. Trapp, Graf O., & Scalini, M., L'Armeria Trapp di Castel Coira-The Armoury of the Castle of Chuburg-Die Churburger Rustkammer, Fagnana, 1995-1996, p. 297 (vol. 1), for similar medieval German caltrops.
Footnotes
Caltrops were scattered on battlefields in an effort to stop or slow advancing enemy cavalry or foot soldiers; regardless of how a caltrop lands, one spike is always facing upwards.
CONDITIONVETTING:
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.
RELATED LOTS
-
Greek Bronze Socketted Spear with Iron Head
12th-10th century B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
With foliate head and short tubular socketted shaft. 119 grams, 15 cm
Ex German collection, Cologne, 1980-1990s.
Snodgrass assigns the Athenian iron spearheads to the type A, i.e. spearheads with a leaf-shaped blade, a long socket and a midrib running to the tip. The bronze ones were assigned to typologies C – small, with a leaf-shaped blade (like the present specimen) - and D – with the socket as long as the blade, rounded shoulders and pronounced midrib. Both socket types were beaten round a cylindrical bar, a conservative method to produce bronze sockets even if the head was in iron. -
Viking Age Iron Bearded Axehead
9th-13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £247
Finno-Ugrian with scooped socket, broad blade with extension to the lower edge, hole to the blade, possibly of Baltic workmanship. 498 grams, 16.2 cm
Acquired 1971-1972. From the collection of the vendor's father. Property of a London, UK, collector.
During their struggles against Germans and Teutonic Knights, deceased pagans were often cremated along with damaged or ceremonially sacrificed weaponry. If swords were generally reserved for the military elite, the side axe was one of the most commonly used weapons. -
Iron Age Celtiberian Dagger
Circa 6th-5th century B.C. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £1,235
Featuring a leaf-shaped double-edged iron blade, shallow fullers tapering to a point, short straight quillons, a soldered two-part grip with ridged middle bulge, the flat pommel surmounted with two spherical finials. 255 grams, 31 cm
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection.
This type of dagger presents a plate handle system, very similar to that of the Fronton sword and bilobular types, but unlike these, it develops to an antenna terminal on the pommel. It is a type of dagger that is documented in peninsular necropoleis of Hispania from the Iron Age II, such as La Mercadera, Requijana de Gormaz or Uxama. It is type V of short antennae daggers according the classification of F. Quesada Sanz, a possible ancestor of the Roman pugio.
