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LOT 1484
Viking Age Iron Long Bearded Axehead
10TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
7 7/8 in. (648 grams, 20 cm).
Finely curved broad blade with chin to the lower edge, rounded socket with lateral triangular extensions and a rectangular extension to the rear; restored and conserved. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the family collection of a South East London collector; formerly acquired in the late 1950s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Arbman, H., Birka I: Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940, pl.14(1); Sedov, B.B., Finno-Ugri i Balti v Epokhi Srednevekovija, Moscow, 1987, pl.CXXIV, item 4.
FootnotesThis type of bearded axe seems to correspond to the E2 category of the Viking axe classification, but also has affinity with the Slavic type of axes Y. Usually these bearded axeheads (skeggöks) had a longer edge, designed to split tree trunks into planks and beams. Some of the bearded axes were known as halfÞynna öx; the neck on such a 'half thin axe' was thinly forged, to make it lighter.
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AUCTIONS:
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Ibero-Celtic Style Iron Falcata with Inlaid Decoration
20th century A.D.Estimate: £700 - 900 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £350
A single-edged machaira sword of falcata typology, the hilt formed as a gracefully curving horse's head and neck, the blade with deep grooves, inlaid with geometric ornaments on the hilt and blade. 771 grams, 57.7 cm
Ex White Collection, England, 1970s. The Bonnhauser Collection, Zurich, 2003. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Since the 5th-4th century BC, the Iberian warriors armed themselves with round shields and single-edged swords (falcatas), gradually adopting the appearance of hoplite armies and the Etruscan version of the machaira. The latter type of sword was duly transformed into a completely new type, with a different size, shape and function, the falcata, which was already in use in the Iberian area by c. 490 BC. This falcata, a type of curved, one-edged sword of supposedly Greek origin, is generally accepted by the scholars as the 'national' weapon of the Iberians, usually suspended on the left side of the warrior, inside a sheath to which sometimes was attached a short knife. It was a terrible cut-and-thrust sword, with an average blade length of 45 cm. -
Luristan Bronze Double-Bladed Arrowhead
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
With a double triangular point with stem and tang. 21 grams, 10.7 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 double-pointed arrowhead belongs to the type II of the Khorasani's classification. These arrowheads were made in cast bronze with a double point with stem and tang, located one above the other and positioned at right angles to each other (see also Muscarella, 1988, figs.411 and 418). Similar examples were found in Marlik, in trench XVIIB, and according to Godard they were made in Luristan. -
Luristan Bronze Leaf-Shaped Dagger
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Triangular double-edged blade with flat midrib and short tang with flattened end. 211 grams, 32.5 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.
