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LOT 1631
Medieval Iron Crossbow Bolt Collection
15TH-16TH CENTURY A.D.
2 1/8 - 4 1/8 in. (174 grams total, 5.5-10.6 cm).
Comprising three hefty bolts, two socketted and one with a short tang. [3, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired from Coincraft, London, UK.
From the private collection of Kenneth Machin (1936-2020), Buckinghamshire, UK; his collection of antiquities and natural history was formed since 1948; thence by descent.
Accompanied by three original certificates of authenticity from Coincraft.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
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AUCTIONS:
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Bactrian Bronze 'Eye' Type Axehead
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
With a swept unsharpened blade, lentoid socket with ribbed collars and raised eye motif to each side. 154 grams, 13 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. -
Massive Amlash Bronze Spearhead Blade
13th-12th century B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
With large ovate blade, broad midrib, rounded shoulders and rectangular-section tang with bent tip ending with a button. 370 grams, 42.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
The massive spearhead belongs to type 1 of the Khorasani classification. Similar excavated examples from Marlik attest the use of such spearheads with bent tang in the area, and Stutzinger dated such weapons to 1200-1100 B.C. The type was the evolution of a typology which began much earlier in Mesopotamia and the fertile crescent, the type 4 of the Stronach classification, with straight square-section tang, usually thickened at the base with a button tang. -
Ethiopian Coptic Iron Halberd
15th-17th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £364
Single-edged crescent-shaped blade equipped with two curved pins with holes for attachment to a wooden shaft. 308 grams, 23.2 cm
Ex USA private collection, 1970s-1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
The blade belongs to the category of crock-backed blades, as classified by Flinders Petrie. More ancient fine Coptic examples are engraved with zigzag lines, a cross, fishes, and vine pattern. The iron halberd, viii, may be of some later date. The iconography of the medieval churches in Ethiopia suggest that these weapons were used as ceremonial halberds, and worn by guardsmen of rulers and bishops. A form similar to these halberds was used as a hoe in South Africa.
