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LOT 0240
Viking Age Sword with Five-Lobed Pommel
10TH CENTURY A.D.
35 in. (755 grams, 89 cm).
A double-edged sword of Petersen Type L or S variant with straight tapering blade, light traces of pattern-welding and battle-nicks along the blade, tapering fullers and a sturdy long tang; boat-shaped lower guard curving gently towards the blade, decorated with punched ring-and-dot ornament along the edges; the upper guard with Trewhiddle Style ornament, surmounted by an elegant five-lobed pommel decorated with geometric patterns in the same style; cleaned and conserved.
ProvenanceAcquired 1971-1972.
From the collection of the vendor's father.
Property of a London, UK, collector.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by searcher certificate no.11574-198855.
Cf. Petersen, J., De Norske Vikingsverd, Oslo, 1919; Oakeshott, R.E., Records of the Medieval Sword, London, 2000; Peirce, I., Swords of the Viking Age, Suffolk, 2002; the sword finds parallels in various similar Viking age specimens of L variant, two very similar swords, both preserved at the British Museum (inv.1848,10-21.1 and 1856,7-1,1404), have been published by Peirce (2002, pp.77-81); however, the pommel is certainly akin to the type S swords, like an example from London (British Museum, accession number 1887,2-9,1, Peirce, 2002, pp.104-105) or a sword in the National Museum in Copenhagen (C16430, Peirce, 2002, pp.106-107).
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Western Asiatic Dagger Blade with Winged Guards
Late 2nd-mid 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £410
A bronze dagger with prominently curved or winged guard, extending out from the ricasso and partly framing the tang, once covered by an organic hilt; the thick midrib extending slightly above the ricasso. 484 grams, 60 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
Many examples of these blades have been excavated in the South Caspian area at Ghalekuti, and in the area of Talish. They have been found primarily in Iron Age graves, although the curves of the guards are reminiscent of the barbed arrow and javelin heads associated with Bronze Age Marlik. This is why some scholars (Dyson) dated them to the second millennium BC and others (Muscarella) to the recent Iron Age. It is possible that this style represents continuity from the Bronze to the Iron Age. -
Viking Period Socketted Spearhead Group
Circa 8th-10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £663
A group of three short iron spearheads with lentoid-section lanceolate blade, short neck and tapering circular socket with forge-welded split, single hole for attachment pin; remains of wood inside one of the shafts. 578 grams total, 24.5-28.5 cm
Acquired 1971-1972. From the collection of the vendor's father. Property of a London, UK, collector.
The spears belong to the type A of the first main group of Viking spears, the so-called Frankish spearheads, which occur between 750 and 950 A.D., but mainly in the 8th and 9th centuries. The Mediterranean influence is still evident on the foliate shape of the blade. -
Volga-Ural Nomad Sabre
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £381
An iron single-edged sabre with slightly curving blade showing battle nicks, evidence of a possible iron extension together with a tongue to the side of the blade, beneath the straight guard. 725 grams, 89 cm
Fine condition.
Acquired 1971-1972. From the collection of the vendor's father. Property of a London, UK, collector. Accompanied by an academic report by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Various sabres of similar typology were found in a complex of medieval nomad weapons in archaeological excavations in the steppe and forest-steppe zone of the Volga-Ural region; chronologically, they were dated to the 9th-11th centuries.
