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LOT 1054
Viking Age Socketted Iron Spearhead
9TH-10TH CENTURY A.D.
11 1/4 in. (126 grams, 28.5 cm).
Type E with leaf-shaped blade with curved edges, socket tending towards a square internal cross-section and decorated with chiselled longitudinal grooves.
ProvenanceEx private collection of Mr M.B., Mainz, Germany, since the 1980s.
Acquired from the above, 2004.
Cf. Hjardar, K. and Vike, V., Vikings at war, Oxford-Philadelphia, 2016, pp.175-180.
FootnotesThe spearheads of type E, of which this type is, belongs to the first group of Viking spearheads, i.e. the Frankish spearheads, which appeared between 750 and 950 A.D. These account for one third of the spears found in Viking sites; most of them are pattern forged with herringbone design.
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Medieval Iron Anti-Cavalry Caltrop Pair
11th-14th century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Each with four arms tipped with triangular spikes. 33 grams total, 62-64 mm
Acquired on the German art market before 2000. Property of a Surrey, UK, collector.
Caltrops were scattered on battlefields in an effort to stop or slow advancing enemy cavalry or foot soldiers; regardless of how a caltrop lands, one spike is always facing upwards. Caesar used widely them at Alesia (Caes., BG 7.73; 82): 'Stakes a foot long, with iron hooks attached to them, were entirely sunk in the ground before these, and were planted in every place at small intervals; these they called spurs'. -
Large Luristan Socketted Adze-Axehead
13th-7th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
With central socket and shaft; cutting blade set vertically at a right-angle; the short pick-adze blade arranged horizontally. 1.43 kg, 26 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
The earliest axes-adzes from the 3rd millennium B.C. were weapons and tools furnished with socket holes. Usually the socket is a more secure way of attaching the object to a wooden haft than having a tang. These weapons developed into a plethora of different forms in the 2nd millennium B.C., and the numerous new forms and were used until at least 800 B.C. -
English Civil War Iron Cannon Ball
1642-1651 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Possibly made for a naval long gun, a 'long nine'. 4.3 kg, 98 mm wide
Found in a churchyard in Derbyshire, UK, before 1950. Acquired from the son of the clergyman that found it, in 2004. Property of a Nottinghamshire gentleman.
