Loading, please wait...
_900x900.jpg "North-West Persian Bronze Short Sword with Mushroom Pommel")
_200x200.jpg "North-West Persian Bronze Short Sword with Mushroom Pommel")
_900x900.jpg "North-West Persian Bronze Short Sword with Mushroom Pommel")
_200x200.jpg "North-West Persian Bronze Short Sword with Mushroom Pommel")
.jpg "North-West Persian Bronze Short Sword with Mushroom Pommel")
.jpg "North-West Persian Bronze Short Sword with Mushroom Pommel")
LOT 0264
North-West Persian Bronze Short Sword with Mushroom Pommel
LATE 2ND-EARLY 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
23 in. (613 grams, 58.5 cm).
The hilt with conical openwork hollow-cast pommel, grip decorated with horizontal grooves and twisted zig-zag pattern, crescentic guard decorated with waves, long blade with ridged mid-grip.
ProvenanceKuizenga collection, the Netherlands, acquired in Utrecht 21 December 1977.
with Bonhams, London, 7 December 2023, no.154.
See a similar sword in Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 1, London, 2002, item 24, p.27.
FootnotesThis 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.
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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0264
North-West Persian Bronze Short Sword with Mushroom Pommel
Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,600
-
Medieval Swallowtail Iron Arrowhead
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
With two splayed long barbs, twisted neck and split socket. 15.7 grams, 96 mm
Acquired prior to 2000. Ex private collection, Cambridgeshire, UK. Property of a Kent lady collector. -
Turco-Mongol 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
14th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Piriform body with thick ribs to the shoulder and impressed knotwork panels between, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 610 grams, 17.2 cm
From the H.N. collection, Milton Keynes, Berkshire, UK, 1990s.
The shape corresponds with a fire grenade in the Kars Museum, no.14.09.2009. Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form. -
Large North-Western Persian Bronze Sword Blade
11h-7th century B.C.Estimate: £180 - 240 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £90
With prominently curved guard extending out from the ricasso partly framing the hilt, thick midrib extending slightly above the ricasso. 385 grams, 44 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
The hilt of such swords was made separately and unfortunately is nearly always missing from the archaeological records. Similar daggers had a northern Iranian background and excavated examples have been recorded from the South Caspian area from Tomadjan and Ghalekuti. Their chronology ranges from the late 2nd millennium B.C. to the 7th century B.C.
