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LOT 1075
Viking Period Bearded Type Axehead
CIRCA 9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
7 7/8 in. (777 grams, 20 cm).
An iron axehead with broad curved blade and spur to the chin, narrow neck, deep socket with lateral spurs and extended plate to the reverse. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1971-1972.
From the collection of the vendor's father.
Property of a London, UK, collector.
Cf. Arbman, H., Birka I: Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940, pl.14, item 3; Sedov, B.B., Finno-Ugri i Balti v Epokhi Srednevekovija, Moscow, 1987, table V, items 16, 17, 20.
FootnotesIron axeheads of this typology show a sub-trapezoidal asymmetrical blade, sometimes perforated through the centre. They are characterised by two projecting spurs to the back of the shaft-hole.
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Luristan Arrowhead Group
2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
A group of six bronze arrowheads with deltoid form, a sharp barbed blade and prominent midrib extending to a long tang. 52 grams total, 4.3-10.9 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
A number of arrowheads of this type have been excavated from the Northern Iranian Plateau, in Luristan and in the South-Caspian region. Many parallels have a burial provenance, but a large hoard of them was found in a non-funerary context. This type of arrowhead has been in use from the 2nd millennium B.C. Godard claimed that barbed types of heads came from tombs from Luristan, like the ones found in Tang-i-Hamamlan. -
Viking Period Danish Type Broad Axehead
Circa 10th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
An iron broad axehead of asymmetrical profile with reinforced curved cutting edge, triangular-section socket with flanking spurs to upper and lower edges. 387 grams, 15.7 cm
Acquired 1971-1972. From the collection of the vendor's father. Property of a London, UK, collector.
The broad axe of type M is a weapon specifically designed as battle-axe with the edge, being Þunssleginn, i.e. thinly forged. These broad axes were the prerogative of the housecarls of the Anglo-Danish King Canute, of the guardsmen fighting with Harold at Stamford Bridge and Hastings in 1066 A.D. and of the famous Varangian Guard of the Roman emperors of Constantinople. -
Medieval Socketted Catapult Dart
14th-16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
An iron catapult dart formed with a tapering cylindrical socket, square-section neck and barbed triangular head with full-length medial rib to both faces. 109 grams, 27 cm
Acquired before 2000. From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.
