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LOT 0299
Viking Iron Pattern-Welded Sword
8TH-9TH CENTURY A.D.
33 5/8 in. (809 grams, 85.5 cm).
Double-edged cutting sword of Petersen type A with a finely tapering blade, showing pattern-welding; upper and lower guards with strongly curved sides; the cross-guard boat-shaped with an acute tapering tang; the pommel attached with two nails to the original boat-shaped upper guard.
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
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 search certificate no. 13064-249347.
Cf. Lorange, A.L., Den Yngre Jernalders Svaerd, Bergen, 1889, pl.I, fig.3a-4a, 2d, swords from Hellebust, Viks, Holden and Hevne; Petersen, J., De Norske Vikingsverd, Oslo, 1919, fig.52; Oakeshott, E., The Archaeology of Weapons, Arms and Armour from Prehistory to the Age of Chivalry, Woodbridge, 1960 (1999); Peirce, I., Swords of the Viking Age, Suffolk, 2002, pl.III (swords from Bergen Museum), pp.28-29; D’Amato, R., Salimbeti, A., The Normans in Italy, 1016-1194, Oxford, 2020.
FootnotesPetersen originally individuated eight examples of this sword’s typology, one of the first categories of Viking swords, although these swords were also widely used in the Carolingian Empire and widespread among the Italic population as well (frescoes from the Necropolis of S.Andrea Priu, Sardegna, 8th or 9th century AD), where specimens are still attested in the 10th century A.D (D’Amato-Salimbeti, 2020, p.23). The evenly wide, three-sided pommel, narrower than the guard, was the most characteristic element of such swords, and in some cases it was divided into three segments, or even seven segments (swords from Neri, Opstryn s., Stryn, Nordfjord). Thes tend to be confused with the similar pommels of the swords of H typology (Petersen, 1919, pp.89ff.), but in these latter swords the guards are wider and with an elliptical cross-section.
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Viking Iron Pattern-Welded Sword
8th-9th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £8,450
Double-edged cutting sword of Petersen type A with a finely tapering blade, showing pattern-welding; upper and lower guards with strongly curved sides; the cross-guard boat-shaped with an acute tapering tang; the pommel attached with two nails to the original boat-shaped upper guard. 809 grams, 85.5 cm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. 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 search certificate no. 13064-249347.
Petersen originally individuated eight examples of this sword’s typology, one of the first categories of Viking swords, although these swords were also widely used in the Carolingian Empire and widespread among the Italic population as well (frescoes from the Necropolis of S.Andrea Priu, Sardegna, 8th or 9th century AD), where specimens are still attested in the 10th century A.D (D’Amato-Salimbeti, 2020, p.23). The evenly wide, three-sided pommel, narrower than the guard, was the most characteristic element of such swords, and in some cases it was divided into three segments, or even seven segments (swords from Neri, Opstryn s., Stryn, Nordfjord). Thes tend to be confused with the similar pommels of the swords of H typology (Petersen, 1919, pp.89ff.), but in these latter swords the guards are wider and with an elliptical cross-section. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Collection
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Including barbed-and-tanged, spade-shaped and other types. 319 grams total, 7.4-18 cm
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
Ovoid in profile with a rounded base, two incised circumferential bands above the shoulder; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 666 grams, 10 cm
From a specialist collection, London, UK, 1990-2000s. Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 15 July 2019 and titled 'Eastern Roman Empire - Greek Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade (μεσαίον kακάβιον) 9th-11th century AD'.
Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια, where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.
