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LOT 1448
Scythian Bronze Arrowhead Collection
CIRCA 7TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.
1 3/8 - 2 1/4 in. (130 grams total, 37-57 mm).
Each with a slender, lozenge-shaped blade and a socket extending near the tip, base of the socket with a side lug. [20, No Reserve]
ProvenanceUK private collection before 2000.
Acquired on the UK art market.
Property of a London gentleman.
Cf. Gorelik, M., Weapons of Ancient East, IV millennium BC-IV century BC, Saint Petersburg, 2003, in Russian, for similar arrowheads from Eurasian sites (plate XLIV, nos.19,31,32,36,37,38,39,51,71).
FootnotesIn Greek warfare archery was mainly employed by Scythians and Cretans for the longer-ranks. Both used composite bows made of wood, horn, bone and sinew. This explains the great range of Scythian arrowheads found on the Greek sites.
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AUCTIONS:
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Medieval Iron Macehead
Circa 12th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Displaying shallow striations running diagonally around the body; cylindrical socket. 133 grams, 41 mm
Private collection, Arundel, West Sussex, UK, 1975-late 1990s. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Piriform body with domed filler-hole, the upper body with a cross-shaped herringbone motif radiating from the filler hole, the space in between the arms with ring-and-annulet motifs; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 431 grams, 10.5 cm
From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 1990s onwards. Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 15 July 2019 and titled 'Eastern Roman Empire - Greek Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade (μεσαίον kακάβιον) 9th-11th century AD'.
Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form. -
Luristan Bronze Axehead
3rd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
With a short blade flaring towards the cutting edge, rounded projection to the butt, rolled ridge around the shaft hole. 192 grams, 75 mm
UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a London gentleman.
The type corresponds to the Gernez type H.2.Fa, of axes with symmetrical collar, rear hump and rectangular blade. The exact provenance of only three axes of this type outside Luristan are known, mainly in Elam: one was found at Tepe Giyan, a second comes from a pit tomb in Susa and the last, a miniature, belongs to level VI of Tepe Gawra, dated to the last third of the 3rd millennium B.C. All the others are known as originating from Luristan.
