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LOT 1353
Viking Age Baltic Bearded Iron Axehead
12TH-13TH CENTURY A.D.
4 3/4 in. (360 grams, 12 cm).
With short curved blade and spur beneath the chin, narrow neck, deep socket with extended edges to the reverse. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a Californian, USA, gentleman, dating back to the late 1960s.
LiteratureCf. Sedov, B.B., Finno-Ugri i Balti v Epokhi Srednevekovija, Moscow, 1987, pl.CXXIV, item 4, for identical type.
FootnotesThe Curonians were known as fierce warriors and sailors who were involved in several wars and alliances with the Swedish, Danish and Icelandic Vikings. Baltic tribes created an original and impressive set of weaponry. They included battle knives, battle axes and spears and javelins with medium sized heads of a characteristic shape.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Matched pair each with strap-slots to each end of the yoke, curved neck with seven-pointed rowel. 178 grams total, 13.5 cm each
Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman. -
Anglo-Saxon Iron Socketted Spearhead
5th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Lentoid-section leaf-shaped blade with slender neck and long closed socket; Swanton's Group D1. 190 grams, 26 cm
Found near Wetwang, East Yorkshire, UK. Acquired circa 2005. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK.
A small number of leaf-shaped blades measuring between some 16 and 28 cm in length are similar to the smaller leaf-shaped pieces of the Swanton series C, except that they tend to be more slender overall. The socket is always narrowly split up its entire length. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Sword Sheath
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Triangular in plan, terminating in an exaggerated curving point; the outer face pierced towards the top and with a raised midrib; the convex interior possibly containing fragmentary remains of a weapon. 355 grams, 56 cm
From a Japanese collection, 1990s.
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