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LOT 0297
Saxon Sacrificed Iron Spatha with Bronze Chape
5TH-6TH CENTURY A.D.
30 3/4 in. (630 grams total, 78 cm long).
Double-edged long sword (spatha) of type Osterburken-Kemathen; the blade with squared shoulders, broken into two parts for sacrificial reasons, tapering towards the point; sturdy tang partially preserved; wooden traces of the scabbard and hilt still visible; accompanied by a bronze outer rim of a scabbard; restored. [3]
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
LiteratureCf. Herzog, R. & Koller, A., Die Alamannen, Stuttgart, 1997, items 162,166 (spathae von GroB-Karben und Wiesbaden), for type; for the chape see Strassmeir, A., Das Fränkische Heer der Merowingerzeit, Teil 2 : Schild und Schwert, Berlin, 2019, p.46 lett.A.
FootnotesThe deliberate fragmentation of a sword, often into three pieces, was a symbolic act of ‘killing’ the weapon, which was then placed as a grave good or offered in a ceremonial context. This was a Germanic custom already visible in the Vandal Przeworsk culture around the 3rd or 4th century A.D., which continued in Northern European areas until the 5th and the 6th centuries A.D.
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Western Asiatic Bronze Spearhead
9th-7th century B.C.Estimate: £150 - 200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £75
Comprising a leaf-shaped blade with a midrib and a long tapering socket; accompanied by a display stand, repaired. 365 grams total, spearhead: 36.5 cm (38.2 cm including stand)
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
The spear, belonging to type 3 of the Khorasani classification, was used by chariot fighters to strike each other or the enemy infantry from above. Similar specimens with longer sockets were excavated by Negahban in the Amlash area. According to Moorey, sockets as long, if not longer than the blade, are a characteristic of Iranian spearheads in the late 2nd and early 1st millennium B.C. A similar spearhead from the Tappeh Sialk has been dated to the 9th-7th century B.C. -
Luristan Comb-Backed Axehead
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
With ribbed openwork socket terminating in a butt formed of four cones, the blade expanding from the socket. 400 grams, 21 cm
From a London collection, early 2000s. -
Greek Iron Lancehead
Magna Graecia, 6th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Blade widened at the base, ribbed, conical socket with wooden remains. 277 grams total, 43 cm including stand (lance 25.8 cm)
From the famous arms and armour collection of Axel Guttmann (1944-2001), Berlin, Germany. Ex Hermann Historica, Munich, Germany, 4 May 2011, no.1783 (lot). From a private specialist collection, London, UK. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Hermann Historica catalogue pages.
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