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LOT 1640
Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Collection
11TH-10TH CENTURY B.C.
2 1/4 - 3 1/2 in. (103 grams total, 58-88 mm).
Comprising ten tanged arrowheads, most with barbed shoulders. [10]
ProvenanceLondon, UK, collection, 1990s.
LiteratureCf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, fig.466, for arrowheads with jet-like wings.
FootnotesThe majority of the arrowheads belong to type IV of the Khorasani classification. They look like a stylised flying bird, such as a swallow.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Syro-Hittite Terracotta Idol
2nd millennium B.C.Estimate: £1,200 - 1,700 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £600
Modelled in the round with columnar body and flared base, arms bent and hands placed flat on the chest holding the nipples, herringbone pattern to the collar, hatched headdress, socket to rear of head. 102 grams, 14.5 cm
Collection T. Arakji, Hamburg, Germany. Private collection, Switzerland, acquired in 1994; thence by descent. -
Western Asiatic Bone Animal Amulet
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
A stylised figure of a stocky animal with a small head, pierced through the body. 3.27 grams, 22.7 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Assyrian Double-Faced Pendant Depicting Pazuzu, King of Wind Demons
8th-6th century B.C.Estimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
Carved in the round with flared base, addorsed faces of the demon with suspension lug above. 50.24 grams, 44 mm
UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Private collection, London, UK.
The figure described as the 'King of Wind Demons' is commonly identified with Pazuzu, a well-known demon in Assyrian and Babylonian tradition. Despite his fearsome appearance, often shown with a canine face, bulging eyes, a scaly body, and wings, Pazuzu was not simply a malevolent force. He was understood as the ruler of the winds, particularly the hot, destructive winds from the desert, but was also invoked for protection. Most notably, Pazuzu was believed to ward off the demon Lamashtu, who threatened pregnant women and infants. Small amulets and pendants bearing his image were therefore worn or placed in domestic spaces as protective devices. Objects such as this pendant belong to that world of everyday belief, where the boundary between danger and protection was fluid, and where even a demon could serve an apotropaic role.
