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LOT 1196
North-West Persian Bronze Spearhead
EARLY 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
13 5/8 in. (268 grams, 34.5 cm).
Short triangular two-edged blade with thick midrib, long round-section neck with V-shaped recesses to the lower end, tapering square-section tang.
ProvenanceEx German collection, Cologne, 1980-1990s.
LiteratureCf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, pp.240-241; Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 2, London, 2004, p.36, no.40.
FootnotesThe spearhead belongs to a typology of spears widespread in the Marlik region, which Negahban divided into two categories. This spearhead belongs to type II, spearheads with triangular blades with rather short blade and shaft with a long tang, the total length of the blade being less than that of the shaft and tang together.
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AUCTIONS:
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Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Group
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £150 - 200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £80
Mainly of leaf-shaped type with short tangs, including examples with midribs. 268 grams total, 14.5-19 cm
Acquired 1990s. From the collection of a late Japanese weaponry collector. -
Massive Late European Bronze Age Finely Ribbed Socketted Spearhead
Circa 10th century B.C.Estimate: £800 - 1,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £400
Formed with an elongated leaf-shaped blade, the socket extending into the blade in the form of a tapered mid-rib with decorative raised central grooves. 449 grams, 45 cm
Acquired from John Cummings, UK, in 1988. Ex Lord Alistair McAlpine collection.
This spear seems to have parallels to those found in the tombs of the 'sword bearers' of central-southern Europe, an aristocratic class of the Urn Fields civilisation who had its last period of splendour between 10th-9th centuries B.C. The weapons were deposited with various objects inside incineration graves, but the spears were often ritually damaged (see tomb 5 of the necropolis of Pontenuovo di Gazzo Veronese, broken into three parts). Our spear, in the upper part, seems to show traces of oxidation due to the fire of the funeral pyre, and probably came from a tomb. -
Luristan Bronze Dagger
Circa 1000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Narrow triangular casting with gentle midrib and narrow point, scooped shoulders, long flat-section tang with lobe finial. 129 grams, 36 cm
Ex German collection, Cologne, 1980-1990s.
The type of the present dirk or dagger corresponds to type IX of Medvedskaya classification. The type consists of a bronze blade with organic handle, possibly made of bone or wood, and a long tang, which was usually bent at the extremity. According to Moorey, the exact dating of these pieces is uncertain.
