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LOT 1463
Mesopotamian Bronze Javelin Head
3RD-2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
17 3/4 in. (262 grams, 45 cm).
With foliate blade, rhomboidal in section, raised mid-rib, medium length stem widening at its base and forming a small stop, quadrangular section tang with bent terminal.
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
Cf. Gorelik, M., Weapons of Ancient East, IV millennium BC-IV century BC, Saint Petersburg, 2003, in Russian, see pl.XXXIII, no.82, from Tepe Hissar; Gernez, G., L’armament en métal au Proche et Moyen-Orient: des origines a 1750 av. J.C., Paris, 2007, p.301, fig.2.88, subtype L2.B.b.
FootnotesThe specimen belongs to the category of tripartite spears with long pointed biconvex blade and single bevelled tang. They seem to be a Mesopotamian and Susian (Elamite) variant, and this type also includes decorated blades, like the spear from Tello with the inscription 'King of Kish'.
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Luristan Bronze Sword with Handle
13th-7th century B.C.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £150
Substantial with leaf-shaped blade, lentoid in section and with rounded tip, rectangular-section tang; blade with nicked and chipped edge. 890 grams, 42 cm
Acquired on the UK art market before 2000. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman. -
Viking Period Iron Broad Baltic Axe-Hammer
Circa 12th-13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £494
Comprising a flat socket with lateral spurs, slender neck developing to a broad blade with curved edge, chin to the lower edge and point to the upper, rear square-section shank with disc hammer-face. 349 grams, 18.5 cm
Private collection, Arundel, West Sussex, UK, 1975-late 1990s.
During the mid 13th century, the axes were favourite weapons among the Baltic people. For example, the Curonian army included lightly armed soldiers who fought with spears, shields, fighting knives and axes. A heavily armed soldier could also carry a sword, a helmet, a shield and a wide-bladed axe. -
Scythian Bronze Zoomorphic Openwork Horse Chamfron
4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £8,450
The edges formed of opposed curving serpent heads, each pair flanking a central zoomorphic head, possibly representing a horse or a beast; the animals with incised detailing to their bodies and heads; a large horse(?) head to the lower edge with its muzzle forming the point of the chamfron; two loops to the reverse. 283 grams, 39.5 cm
From the Gorovits family collection, since at least the 1940s. Private collection, London. 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. 17178-221462.
Bronze open-worked frontlets like this one were found with horses in the Barrow-mound no.5 of the Ulyap burial-ground in the Kuban basin, and their secure dating to the 4th century B.C. was established by the Thasian amphoras found in the respective graves (nn. 14-15-21, see Leskov, 1990, figs.180,183). The incised decoration of the chamfron finds various parallels both on frontlets from Barrow-Mounds nos. 4/1913 and 4/1917 near Elizavetinskaya Kossack-Village, in Kuban Basin, and from Gyuenos in Abkhazia (Galanina, 2010, pl.7,12). The piece belongs to a rare type of chamfron, known only from finds in the Scythian and Meotian burials of 5th-4th centuries B.C.
