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LOT 0258
North-West Persian Bronze Dagger
EARLY 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
11 1/2 in. (298 grams total, 29.2 cm high including stand).
With long tapered blade, rounded shoulders and broad flattened mid-rib, tapered square sectioned tang pierced at the tip.
ProvenanceDr. T.J. Arne, Sweden, 1934.
Private collection, Sweden, late 1930s.
with Stockholm Auktionsverk, Stockholm, Sweden, 9 June 2014, lot 2613.
Cf. Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 1, London, 2002, p.34, no.31.
FootnotesThis tanged bronze blade from Luristan belongs to a category of Luristan swords still in use in the Achaemenid Period, as proved from a blade with a perished handle (probably bone or wood) of the same type, in the National Museum of Iran (2694/15633). Examples without inscriptions like our model have been classified by Grotkamp-Schepers in the Solingen Museum as pieces from Luristan.
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
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Ghaznavid Iron Knife with Calligraphic Inlays
10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £442
Composed of a C-shaped socketted hilt and slender blade with single cutting edge slightly curved towards the tip; the outer face of the socket, the top edge and one side of the blade inlaid with gilt inscription, the other side of the blade displaying two gilt felines. 91 grams, 31.5 cm
London collection since the 1980s. Property of a Canadian family.
The gilding process used on the blade seems to be an exceptionally rare example of what was known in medieval Islamic literary sources as ‘gold water’. The blade seems to have been decorated with a Kufic inscription to three sides. It bears witness to the extraordinary sophistication of the metalworkers and jewellers of this period. -
Ummayad Bronze Spearhead
7th-8th century A.D.Estimate: £250 - 350 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £133
Formed with a broadly triangular blade, narrow neck and tapering round-section socket. 245 grams, 34 cm
Ex old English collection. The Kusmirek Collection, UK.
The basic Arabic term for a spear or lance, whether used by cavalry or infantry, was rumh. In the 7th century it normally would have been ten or twelve cubits long, i.e. four and a half metres. -
Luristan Bronze Sword Blade
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Comprising a narrow leaf-shaped blade with midrib and lateral channels, rounded shoulders, short tang with attachment hole. 445 grams, 45.5 cm
Ex German collection, Cologne, formed 1980s-1990. The Kusmirek Collection, UK.
The metalworking techniques used in making bronze weapons in early Iran were very complex. Surfaces were often finished in repoussé work, and some of the weapons were chased, others engraved. The function of the ridges here was not only decorative, however, but principally to reduce suction and thus allow the blade to be withdrawn speedily. The ruling elites of warrior horsemen were buried in the graves with their weapons and horses which are the main sources of the Luristan and North-Western bronze weapons.
