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LOT 1432
Scythian Bronze Arrowhead Collection
CIRCA 7TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.
1 5/8 - 2 1/8 in. (158 grams total, 41-53 mm).
Each with a slender, lozenge-shaped blade and a socket extending near the tip, base of the socket with a side lug. [22, No Reserve]
ProvenanceUK private collection before 2000.
Acquired on the UK art market.
Property of a London gentleman.
Cf. Furtwängler, A., Olympia. Die Ergebnisse der von dem Deutschen Reich veranstalteten Ausgrabung, Band 4. 2 Bände (Textband, Tafelband), Berlin, 1890, pl.LXIV, nos.1077, 1078, 1080, 1085, 1087, 1088.
FootnotesThe Scythians were famous for their archery abilities, and were often employed as mercenaries. The Athenian tyrant Pisistratus hired them and they participated in battles beside the Athenian phalanx as well as serving as a police corps keeping order within the city of Athens. This explains the great range of Scythian arrowheads found on the Greek sites.
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AUCTIONS:
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Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Collection
14th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Two with a sturdy square-section tang, narrow barbed head with midrib; the others with triangular or foliate blades; each with a raised midrib and a short tang. 212 grams total, 10.1-16.2 cm
Ex London collection, formed 1990-2000.
Although some of them are different in shape, these arrowheads are apparently related types of a polythetic group. Two basic deltoid forms are represented: one has a sharp, flat blade, the ends of which extend to form wings or barbs, and a prominent midrib extending into a long tang that often has a stop; the blade shape varies from deltoid to more manifestly triangular. The other form has no barbs, but it has a prominent midrib extending to the tang, and a narrow leaf-shaped blade. -
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): £182
Small piriform ceramic missile, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 437 grams, 11.1 cm
From a military inspired collection formed from the 1990s. 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.
