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LOT 0293
Pre-Achaemenid Bronze Short Sword with Bifurcated Pommel
CIRCA 8TH CENTURY B.C.
19 5/8 in. (665 grams, 50 cm).
The blade with mid-rib divided in five vertical lines, emerging from the mouth of two stylised lion-heads, the eyes recessed to accept red inlay; the grip and upper part of the blade with incised spiral decoration; the ribbed pommel with twin roundels, each decorated with a recessed six-petalled rosette, traces of red pigment still visible.
ProvenanceEx old English collection.
London art market, pre 2000.
Property of a London, UK, gentleman.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11974-210547.
Cf. Muscarella, O. W., Bronze and Iron: Ancient Near Eastern Artefacts in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1988, pp.285-286, no.390, fig.282; Christie's, Axel Guttmann collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, Part 2, London, South Kensington, 28th April 2004, lot 32.
FootnotesExamples of swords and daggers with the guard in the form of addorsed animal heads with the blade projecting from the mouths are known from Assyrian reliefs (for example on the orthostats from Tell al Rimah).
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0293
Pre-Achaemenid Bronze Short Sword with Bifurcated Pommel
Estimate £3,000 - 4,000€3,480 - 4,640 (for guidance only)$4,050 - 5,400 (for guidance only)
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Heavy Western Asiatic Bronze Axehead
Late 3rd millennium B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
With swept blade, large socket with shallow raised circumferential rib and a vertical rib to the rear. 741 grams, 14.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
In the middle of the 3rd millennium B.C., the most widespread types of axes were those made for splitting and those for cutting. In the last third of this millennium there emerged a sharp differentiation between such axes. Such a sharp division by function should be associated with the influence of the Syro-Palestinian tradition. Such differentiation, in the absence of some multifunctional forms can be observed from the end of the 4th millennium B.C. and during the 3rd millennium B.C. -
Roman 'Pompey the Great' Lead Slingshot
1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Biconical lead slingshot (glans) with inscription in Latin letters 'CN' (Cneius) 'MAG' (Magnus) on one side, and 'IMP' for 'IMPERATOR' (victorious general) to the other side, i.e Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus Imperator (Pompey the Great the victorious general). 47 grams, 39 mm
Ex M.Cummings, UK, 1990s.
The shot (Völling type 1C) is marked with the abbreviated name of Gnaeus Pompey; it was used in quantity at the Battle of Monda (or Munda) against Julius Caesar, 17th March 45 BC. The projectiles were made of different materials: lead (glandes) or in pottery or stone (lapides missiles). Sometimes they were signed with the name of the general, like our specimen. -
Amlash Type Spearhead Bronze Spearhead Blade
13th-12th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
Showing a long tapering blade with rounded shoulders and prominent mid-rib, the tang straight and rectangular in section. 348 grams, 43.4 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
The weapon belongs to the type 1 of the Khorasani spearhead classification, mainly from Marlik or Amlash areas. Similar pieces have been dated by Stutzinger to 1200-1100 B.C., but the period of use is attested to at least until 1000 B.C.
