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LOT 1409
Roman 'Pompey the Great' Lead Slingshot
1ST CENTURY B.C.
1 5/8 in. (67.5 grams, 42 mm).
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). [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a Spanish collection.
From the collection of an London antiquarian.
Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 4th May 2022 and titled 'Roman Res Publica - Lead Slingshots (glandes) of Caesarian Age - 45 B.C circa'.
Accompanied by a printed copy of the Spanish cultural export licence 2022/07273.
Cf. 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 a similar glandes from Zaragoza Museum, the one with the name of Pompey inscribed coming from Munda battlefield.
FootnotesThe 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.
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Cuman-Qipchak Iron Shield Rim Group
12th-13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Square in section and curved in profile with pierced lobes and attachment rivets. 252 grams total, 7.2-43 cm
UK gallery, early 2000s.
These kind of shields are often found in the burials of nomadic warriors of Eastern Europe accompanied by certain sets of weapons — four-part helmets, quiver kits, sabers and a spearhead. Such graves contained the remains of similar wooden shields with metal parts. Determining the dating of these burial complexes in the framework of the Golden Horde time, the Archaeologists dwell in detail on the attribution of the helmets and the remnants of the shields, linking their appearance in the Northeast Black Sea Coast with the resettlement here of the black hoods from Southern Russia in 1260s. -
Large Western Asiatic Bronze Rapier Blade
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Composed of a tanged and barbed blade with raised midrib to both faces. 327 grams, 43.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
In the last ninety years, many such tanged blades have been considered to be coming from centres of production in Amlash and Marlik. Without context accurate dating is impossible, but the shape recalls the rapiers of the Bronze or Early Iron Age. -
Large Marlik Type Bronze Socketted Spearhead with Blood Channels
14th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £211
Comprising a triangular blade with prominent midrib, long split socket with two piercings for attachment and lower part decorated by horizontal circular grooves. 336 grams, 48 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
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