Norman Bronze Prick Spur

Formed with a slender triangular blade, raised midrib with flat upper face, penannular guard and scooped shoulders, columnar grip with gusseted collar; the upper grip decorated with vertical lines, the lower part with horizontal grooves; crescent pommel. 430 grams, 44 cm



Ex Alexander Cotton collection, Hampshire, UK 1980s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

This short sword or dagger belongs to the category of blades with pennanular guard, with hilt and guard cast in one piece with the grip. This solid weapon has separate sets of encircling ribs on the grip. Negahban excavated similar weapons from the Marlik cemeteries, although sometimes the type combines grip and penannular guard with flanged hilts open to accept inlays.

With a narrow pointed blade and wide shallow raised flange to the centre, straight sides, well marked shoulders with narrow tang, one rivet hole still preserved in one specimen. 358 grams total, 20.7-33.5 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 type was technically more advanced than previous types of blades in the Near East, owing to the shape of the weapon, with its slightly convex sides widening out near the point, which combined the advantages of the leaf-shaped and straight-sided forms. This kind of dagger was used in the early second millennium in Mesopotamia and in Syria, and as late as the mid-first millennium in Luristan.

Including triangular, leaf-shaped, barbed and other types. 205 grams total, 3.8-10.8 cm



Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.