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_900x900.jpg "Migration Period Iron Sword with Bronze Pommel")
_200x200.jpg "Migration Period Iron Sword with Bronze Pommel")
_900x900.jpg "Migration Period Iron Sword with Bronze Pommel")
_200x200.jpg "Migration Period Iron Sword with Bronze Pommel")
.jpg "Migration Period Iron Sword with Bronze Pommel")
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LOT 1365
Migration Period Iron Sword with Bronze Pommel
5TH-6TH CENTURY A.D.
35 7/8 in. (707 grams, 91 cm).
A spatha with a double-edged parallel-sided blade, battle nicks to both cutting edges; long tang with a fastening rivet in situ; small trapezoidal bronze pommel.
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 a search certificate number no.12040-216429.
Exhibited at the Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 19th June-9th September 2024; accompanied by a copy of a photograph of the artefacts on display.
LiteratureCf. Menghin, W., Das Schwert im Frühen Mittelalter, Stuttgart, 1983, nos.60, 66, 67; 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, pp.34-37.
FootnotesThe spatha, often with an elegantly decorated hilt with golden elements, was characterised by a relatively light handle so that the centre of gravity of the weapon was moved towards the tip. The evolution of the 'barbarian' long sword in the west, during the invasions, began around the 5th century.
CONDITIONTimeLine 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:
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Luristan Bronze Dirk
13th-12th century B.C.Estimate: £300 - 400 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £167
With lentoid-section blade, tongue-shaped in plan, integral tapering hilt with flared finial, lateral flanges to accept a panel of bone or wood to each face forming the grip. 174 grams, 34 cm
Ex Joseph J. Gancie (1923-2010), Washington, Silver Spring, Maryland. with Alex Cooper Auctioneers Inc., sale 1035, 27 January 2013, lot 162a.
The dirk belongs to the type III in the Medvedskaya classification, used in Near East from the 13th to the 6th century B.C. The type is the 32a of the Maxwell-Hyslop study. The Asiatic daggers of this type are confined to Syria and Persia, but Transcaucasia also provides an interesting analogy from Kalekent on the Baku peninsula, where a pointed straight-sided dagger blade has a flanged hilt with the whole of the side flanges bent over the centre. -
Turco-Mongol 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
13th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
A hollow vessel with cylindrical body, carinated shoulder, short neck and domed mouth, bands of impressed herringbone patterns to the shoulder and waist, piriform lower body; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 619 grams, 16.5 cm
From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 1990s onwards.
This was a type of ceramic fire grenade, similar to the ones used by the Eastern Romans but of Turco-Mongol type. Apart from the use of manual flame-throwers, special corps of soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Short Sword with Mushroom Pommel
Late 2nd-early 1st millennium B.CSold for (Inc. bp): £780
The hilt with mushroom-shaped pommel, round grip, crescentic guard, long sloping blade with rectangular sectioned mid-ridge. 1.04 kg, 56.5 cm
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s.
This category of swords has been classified by Khorasani as 'swords with a mushroom pommel' and are usually characterised by a solid-cast hilt with a penannular guard, a ribbed or variously decorated grip and the conical hollow-cast mushroom pommel. Usually the blade is multi-fullered and tapers to a sharp tip. Moorey considers them to be from the end of the 2nd millennium B.C.
