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LOT 0240
North-Western Bronze Short Sword
2ND-1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
17 1/8 in. (346 grams, 43.5 cm).
Featuring a prominently curved guard extending out from the ricasso of the blade and partly framing the hilt, thick midrib extending slightly above the ricasso.
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
See Muscarella, O.W., Bronze and Iron Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1988, pp.99-100, for similar.
FootnotesThe hilt of such swords was made separately, and unfortunately is nearly always missing from the archaeological records. Similar excavated examples have been recorded from the South Caspian area from Tomadjan and Ghalekuti.
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British WWII Water Bottle
Dated 1940 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Felt covered steel water bottle of oval cylindrical shape with wood plug stopper with cord retainer and fitted with canvas carry cover and shoulder strap with printed 'H S & CO Ltd ' maker name and War Department 'broad arrow' mark and date. 592 grams, bottle 23.5 cm high
The Kusmirek Collection, UK. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Group
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
The tanged trio with leaf-shaped heads and raised midrib to both faces. 112 grams total, 13.7-15.3 cm
Ex private collection, 1980s. Acquired on the UK art market in the 1990s. -
Roman Bronze Military Helmet Face Guard Section
3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
From the right side of the face mask, the upper edge with a band of embossed diagonal lines, probably intending to represent stylised hair, embossed spiral to the centre, a symbol clearly connected with the worship of the sun; a hole for the fastening thongs at ear-level which originally linked the face-guard to the bowl. 75 grams, 13 cm high
Acquired 1960s-1990s. Late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister.
The spiral decoration of the face-guard is connected with the solar cult. The spiral represents the rotary movement of the sun, and the spiral is probably the oldest known spiritual symbol connected with the sun, together with the swastika or tetragammadion. The connection can also be seen in Celtic art, where the representation of the spiral also follows the path of the sun, describing the movements of the heavenly body over the course of a solar year. The third century was characterised by diffusion of the solar cult, the Sol Invictus, among the Roman soldiers, with its symbols often represented on arms and weapons as an apotropaic element of protection.
