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LOT 0310
Roman Pattern-Welded Iron Spatha
CIRCA LATE 4TH CENTURY A.D.
21 1/2 in. (287 grams, 54.6 cm).
A section of a double-edged long sword (spatha) of Illerup-Wyhl typology; half of the blade still intact with the tang created in later times by shortening a part of the blade; narrow parallel cutting edges tapering towards the point; both sides showing pattern-welding in form of ZS stripes and torsion technique B.II.1.2.
ProvenanceEx private collection of Mr M.B., Mainz, Germany, since the 1980s.
Acquired from the above, 2004.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11976-210915.
Cf. Miks, C., Studien zur Romischen Schwertbewaffnung in der Kaiserzeit, I-II Banden, Rahden, 2007, no.536.58, for similar.
FootnotesDr Miks refers to the spathae of the 'lllerup-Wyhl' type I as to a large group of blades which in terms of their proportions, dimensions and shape, are probably a mixture of blades of the more classical 'Straubing-Nydam' and 'Lauriacum-Hromowka' types of long Roman swords. They are one of the most complicated category of late Roman swords and therefore difficult to clearly identify. The chosen double designation (lllerup-Wyhl) takes into account the circumstance that the blades of this category could be identified in a lighter, narrower shape, with several representatives in the concentration ‘C’ of the moor finds from lllerup Ädal (Miks, 2007, A321), while heavy and broad specimens may be visible, like the well-preserved blade from body grave 22 of a late Roman influenced grave field in Wyhl (Miks, 2007, A798).
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LOT 0310
Roman Pattern-Welded Iron Spatha
Estimate £3,000 - 4,000€3,480 - 4,640 (for guidance only)$4,050 - 5,400 (for guidance only)
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Elamite Bronze Crescentic Axehead
Mid 3rd millennium B.C.Estimate: £180 - 240 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £90
With slender tubular socket, horizontal upper cheek and curved lower one, scooped profile to blade with convex cutting edge. 333 grams, 12.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
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Circa 15th-16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
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Ex California, USA, collection formed since the late 1960s. European art market before the late 1990s. -
Luristan Bronze Horse Bit with Horses
11th-8th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,160
The cheekpieces formed as stylised horses with small ears, elongated heads and long tails, a circular opening to the body for the bar to pass through, two loops to the body and two spurs to the reverse. 654 grams, 21 cm wide
Ex Paris collection. French gallery, Paris, 1990-2000s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11975-210127
In Luristan, horses were usually buried with a bronze horse-bit in their mouths, as shown by finds from Sarkishti, where the horses’ teeth were stained green.
