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LOT 1464
Viking Age and Later Iron Axehead Group
10TH-18TH CENTURY A.D.
4 3/4 - 11 3/4 in. (8.45 kg total, 12-30 cm).
Mainly comprising socketted axeheads and adzes, adze-axes, wedges and other items. [10, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1990s-early 2000s.
East Anglian private collection.
Cf. Hjardar, K. & Vike, V., Vikings at war, Oxford-Philadelphia, 2016, p.163, for the typology of eastern axes similar to the Viking bearded specimen in our group.
FootnotesSlavic battle-axes also came into use in Scandinavia, especially in the Eastern part of Gotland, Denmark and Sweden. There were narrow-bladed types, described as being very light. Another characteristic of some of the Eastern axes was an extra long hammer or more rarely a secondary blade protruding from the back of axehead.
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AUCTIONS:
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Cased Tudor to Stuart 'Published' Sword Belt Accruement Collection
16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Collection of military belt fittings including buckles and frames, strap hooks, scabbard chapes and other items, all mounted and labelled in a felt-lined glazed wooden display case; many of these objects are published in the Detector Finds book series. 3.8 kg total, 52.5 x 37 x 6 cm including case
From the collection of the famous author, writer and speaker, Gordon Bailey, Essex, UK; formed since 1968. -
Mesopotamian Bronze Arrowhead Collection
Circa 1800-900 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Including triangular-section, barbed, paddle-shaped, and other types. 353 grams total, 4-12 cm
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s.
Paddle-shaped arrowheads with a flat, comparatively wide mid-rib and the blade shaped to a point were typical of Old Babylonian Empire. The shoulders were pronounced and the arrowhead had a rectangular-section tapering tang. They are the majority in this group, which comprises also barbed triangular arrowheads of type V from Marlik-Luristan, and one interesting specimen of trilobate arrowhead. -
Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Collection
Circa 2nd millennium B.C.-9th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Including triangular, leaf-shaped, barbed, square-section, and other types. 446 grams total, 10-17.5 cm
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s.
It is significant to remember that the use of winged and barbed heads in Anatolia was common since the second millennium B.C., but apparently their employment began earlier in this area, where types like these occur alongside the non-barbed, predominantly ribbed and tanged types.