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LOT 1086
Viking Age Iron Socketted Spearhead
10-11TH CENTURY A.D.
16 in. (313 grams, 40.7 cm).
Type M with rhomboid blade with straight edges, ending in squared angles at the base and narrowing as it merges into the round cross-section socket.
ProvenanceEx private collection of Mr M.B., Mainz, Germany, since the 1980s.
Acquired from the above, 2004.
Cf. D'Amato, R., 'The Betrayal: military iconography and archaeology in the Byzantine paintings of XI-XV centuries AD representing the arrest of Our Lord' in Acts of the International conference ‘Weapons bring peace? Warfare in Medieval and Early Modern Europe’, Wroclaw, 2-4 December 2010, Wroclaw, 2012, pp.69-95, fig.18; Hjardar, K. and Vike, V., Vikings at war, Oxford-Philadelphia, 2016, pp.175-180.
FootnotesThis type of spears account for half of the found Viking spears, together with types I,K,G,F. Differently from the previous types of Viking spearheads, side wings do not feature commonly in these typologies. A Viking spear of M type, dated at end of 11th century A.D., was found on the Drastar battlefield, showing a cross intermediary between the blade and the shaft.
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North Western Bronze Short Sword
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,885
Of fine quality, showing an open cast crescentic pommel with raised midrib and two parallel shallow lines across the top; pommel open on both sides to reveal the tip of the blade, tang rising from the grip; the solid cylindrical grip decorated with fourteen circumferential ribs, angular guard and triangular blade with strong midrib. 1.05 kg, 58 cm
Ex P.A., Hertfordshire, UK, specialist collection of Greek art, 1980-1990s.
The dirk has its hilt cast onto the blade. Moorey published a very similar piece with fourteen encircling ribs on the grip and attributed similar pieces to the North-West, also based upon examples of similar dirks from the Iranian and Russian Talesh region. He dated these pieces to the late 2nd millennium B.C. Similar examples were excavated at Marlik. Stutzinger attributed these types with a wider dating (13th-9th century A.D.) -
Western Asiatic Bronze Dagger Blade
Early 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
With a narrow tapering blade, slightly enlarged in the guard area and narrowing again towards the 'ear' pommel. 61 grams, 33 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
The techniques used by Luristan craftsmen to create bronze weapons were highly sophisticated. They used a wide variety of surface finishes: repoussé work, chasing and engraving. The fact that the mountains of Luristan were particularly rich in copper and tin, both required for making bronze, was a significant advantage to the metalworking industry. The weapons produced developed into a plethora of different forms in the 2nd millennium B.C. to at least 800 B.C. These objects include axes and adzes, pick axes, daggers and dirks, spears, swords, helmets and shields. Weapons were usually cast, but armour parts were also made by the hammering process. -
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Medieval Iron Socketted Javelin
Circa 15th-16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
With square-section spike and tapering socket. 249 grams, 32 cm
Ex California, USA, collection formed since the late 1960s. European art market before the late 1990s.
