Roman 'Pompey the Great' Lead Slingshot

Comprising: a spatha-type two-edged tapering blade, lentoid in section with sloped shoulders and short tang pierced by an attachment rivet for the grip; traces to both faces of the blade of wooden fibre from the scabbard; edges lightly notched but substantially complete; the lower guard rectangular in plan and scaphoid in section with inset garnet cloisons, triangular along the lower row and heart-shaped above, rectangular at the top, with small rectangular slivers at each end; accompanied by the upper roundel of the pommel, set with four garnet cloisons. 954 grams, 84.5 cm



From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no. 12357-225921. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

These ‘ceremonial’ swords (in reality widely used in battle) with an inlaid guard are according to Kazanski Late Roman in origin. The cloisonné decoration was probably linked with the production of particularly ornamented swords in the ateliers of the Roman capital of Constantinople. This typology of weapon was not only produced as a gift for foreign chiefs allied to the empire, but it was also adopted by the Imperial army, and reserved for the Imperial officers, who were often of Germanic or Asiatic origin.

The hilt with mushroom-shaped pommel, round grip, crescentic guard, long sloping blade with rectangular-section mid-ridge. 1.04 kg, 56.5 cm



Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

This category of swords has been classified by Khorasani as 'swords with a mushroom pommel' and are usually characterised by a solid-cast hilt with a penannular guard, a ribbed or variously decorated grip and the conical hollow-cast mushroom pommel. Usually the blade is multi-fullered and tapers to a sharp tip. Moorey considers them to be from the end of the 2nd millennium B.C.

With a leaf-shaped blade and raised midrib extending to a rectangular section tang with a right angle turn. 528 grams, 41.5 cm



Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.