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LOT 0332
Scandinavian Viking Sacrificed Iron Sword
10TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
3 1/2 - 26 in. (1.15 kg total, 9-66 cm).
Deliberately broken up on deposition, Petersen's Type L variant, comprising: D-shaped pommel with peened tang above and upper portion of tang forming the grip; lower section of tang with separate lower guard, scaphoid in plan and gently drooping in profile with convergent ends; upper portion of double-edged lentoid-section blade; lower section of parallel-sided blade with rounded tip. [3]
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12726-234732.
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.
Cf. Peirce, I., Swords of the Viking Age, Woodbridge, 2002, p.80-1, for a similar sword in the BM.
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AUCTIONS:
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9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
With gently curving blade, long neck with a spur, round socket with vertical flanges. 331 grams, 14 cm
From a North American collection formed in the 1970s-1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Large Luristan Socketted Bronze Adze
2nd-early 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
An adze-axe head with central shaft hole and curved blades, flange to socket. 570 grams, 16.5 cm
Acquired in the 1990s. 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.
The adze-axe was a fundamental weapon of many Bronze Age cultures around the world. The form lends itself to dual purposes - for war and peace. As a tool, it functions in fabricating wood and as a weapon, its heavy mass and compact form make it a deadly striking and chopping weapon, even able to defeat light armour. -
Greek Bronze Cuirass Section of Thorax Stadios
4th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £494
Left front side of anatomical armour for horseman, embossed left flank muscles embossed, double border of armour under armpits still partially visible. 465 grams, 33.5 cm
UK private collection, acquired in 1996. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Armour for cavalrymen in classical Greece were specially designed with these characteristics. They were very broad on the hips to enable their wearers to sit on a horse. Important parallels are known from South Italy, one of them preserved in the Bari Museum.
