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LOT 0267
Merovingian Iron Pattern-Welded Sword
CIRCA 6TH CENTURY A.D.
34 in. (694 grams, 86.5 cm).
A double-edged spatha with a lentoid parallel-sided blade and pointed tip; evidence of battle nicks on both cutting edges; long tang and traces of wooden scabbard on the blade; signs of damask pattern running along the length of the blade, especially on the upper part; cleaned and conserved.
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
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 search certificate number no.12919-245174.
Cf. Menghin, W., Das Schwert im Frühen Mittelalter, Stuttgart, 1983, nos.60,67-70; Lebedinski, I., Armes et guerriers Barbares au temps des grandes invasions IVème au Vième siècle après J.C., Paris, 2001, pp.126-127; Strassmeir, A., Das Frankische Heer der Merowingerzeit, Berlin, 2019, II, p.27.
FootnotesUsually the term ‘damascened’ is only used for blades, describing the way in which their individual rods are forged to create a desired pattern effect that remained visible on the surfaces of the finished product (technique B.II.1.2.). The shape and regularity of the pattern was essentially dependent on the number and nature of the individual rods and on the skills of the blacksmith. The scholars differentiate on this basis more or less careful and complicated variants (e.g. striped, diamond, herringbone, angular, rosette, mosaic, etc.), in which the individual rods from different iron lamellae, which are parallel or twisted (torsion pattern-welding), were built up often in connection with each other (technique B.II.1.2.1-2). Combining striped rods that were partially straight and partially twisted - clockwise or counter-clockwise - allowed the formation of a very decorative blade.
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LOT 0267
Merovingian Iron Pattern-Welded Sword
Estimate £2,000 - 3,000€2,320 - 3,480 (for guidance only)$2,700 - 4,050 (for guidance only)
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Mesopotamian Grey Stone Macehead
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
Biconvex in profile with low tubular socket. 442 grams, 73 mm
Ex 1990s collection and with a central London gallery. -
Highly Decorated Caucasian Bronze Helmet
6th century B.C.Estimate: £40,000 - 60,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £20,000
Formed as a domed bowl with a rivetted overlay on the top, a bird of prey finial at the crown with a raised vertical ridge before the beak; extensive decoration on the body comprising annulets, lines, ring-and-dot motifs and pointillé borders, a circumferential border of rectangular panels on the lower part of the helmet, each rectangle divided into four triangular panels with herringbone and ring-and-dot decoration; a short nose-guard beneath the raised ridge, four raised bosses flanking the ridge, depicting apotropaic eyes; the lower rim pierced for the attachment of internal lining. 650 grams, 21 cm wide
Ex German private collection, M.B., Mainz, 1980s. Acquired from the above by the current owner. 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 search certificate number no.12902-242697.
The helmet belongs to a limited series of helmets found in the Caucasus, discovered in archaeological complexes of the Colchis-Koban Culture, adding another chapter to the history of a series of important Caucasian helmets. Its decoration rivals that of a helmet of the Krasnodar Museum, until now the most complete and decorated in this category. All the helmets of this typology were decorated according to a certain scheme, but the present helmet and the one from Krasnodar are richer in terms of symbols and ornaments. The decoration and similarity with other helmets in this series suggest that the present helmet could have been made for the military elite of the North-West Caucasus in Central Caucasian workshops. Most likely, the owner was part of the elite of the local tribes of the North-West Caucasus of the Maeotic circle. -
Large Mahogany Telescope with Brass Fittings
19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
Large wooden barrel with brass eyepiece and inner tube, marked in copperplate script 'T.Harris & Son, London / Day or Night'. 1.05 kg, 55 cm
From the private collection of author and historian Dr DeWitt Bailey, one of the global authorities on the confederate army in the US civil war; thence by descent to his grandson.
