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LOT 1019
Roman Inscribed Lead Slingshot Group
17 MARCH 45 B.C.
1 1/2 - 2 in. (216 grams total, 37-50 mm).
Comprising four scaphoid lead slingshots (glandes), each with traces of low-relief inscription(s) referring to 'CN P[OMPEIUS]'. [4, No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx M.Cummings, UK, 1990s.
LiteratureCf. D'Amato, R. and Sumner, G., Arms and Armour of the Imperial Roman Soldier: From Marius to Commodus, 112 BC-AD 192, London, 2009, fig.32, p.45, for similar glandes from Zaragoza Museum, the one with the name of Pompey inscribed coming from Munda battlefield.
FootnotesThese shots (mainly of type IIb of the Völling classification) are marked with the abbreviated name of Cn.Pompeius; they were used in quantity at the Battle of Monda (or Munda) against the Caesarian troops, by the followers of Pompey, on 17th March 45 B.C. Similar missiles were used in
the civil war between Pompey and Caesar, and in all Caesar's wars. The projectiles of the slingers could be in lead (glandes) or in pottery or stone (lapides). Sometimes they were signed with the name of the general, or used to report some injuries, for example the sling missile found in Alesia with the name of Labienus.
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North-Western Persian Type Sword Blade
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
With rounded shoulders and shallow square-sectioned mid-rib running to the blade tip; short tang with fastening hole. 220 grams, 37 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
The Luristan people produced fine metalwork, which according to Dr. Khorasani, was made possible by a settled period which arose as a result of the defeat of the Elamites by the Babylonians, leaving the Luristani people in relative peace for a period of time after 1200 B.C. According to Khorasani, 'A culture of innovation and experimentation flourished, and the repertoire of the Luristan smiths expanded in the period between 1150-1050 BC.' It became widespread throughout Mesopotamia, the Caucasus and the Near East. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Leaf-Shaped Spearhead
Early 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £546
Having ovate blade with central rib and slender shoulders, cylindrical short shaft marked by circular grooves broading towards the end, encasing a rectangular tang with a bent end. 134 grams, 23.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
In the 3rd millennium until the first half of the 2nd millennium in the Near and Middle East, in India, the Caucasus and Central Asia, a stalked tip was used for the spear heads, and this model developed in Mesopotamia in the middle of the 3rd millennium B.C. The main types were with a facetted blade on a volumetric pin and a leaf-shaped blade on a flat handle with holes for rivets. The same models spread almost unchanged to the Caucasus, Anatolia and Bactria. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Group
14th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Comprising ten triangular arrowheads with tangs. 203 grams total, 8.1-15 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
Some of these arrowheads seem to belong to the type V, subcategory types A and C according to the classification of Khorasani and Negahban. In the four categories of triangular bronze arrowheads from Luristan, Marlik and Northern Iran described by Negahban, subtypes A and C of type V are larger arrow heads with barbed shoulders and triangular heads. These types of arrowheads were commonly used in Anatolia and Mesopotamia from the 2nd millennium B.C., but apparently their employment began earlier in this area, where types like these occur alongside the non-barbed, predominantly ribbed and tanged types.
