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_900x900.jpg "Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Collection")
_200x200.jpg "Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Collection")
.jpg "Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Collection")
LOT 1511
Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Collection
1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
2 7/8 - 7 in. (319 grams total, 7.4-18 cm).
Including barbed-and-tanged, spade-shaped and other types. [13]
ProvenanceEx London, UK, collection, 1990s.
LiteratureCf. Muscarella, O.W., Bronze and Iron Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1988, pp.289ff, nos. 396, 398-401, 407,412,416.
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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Greek Lead Slingshot with Macedonian Star
3rd-1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Biconical in profile with a casting seam and a rayed solar symbol, the so-called Argead Star, on one side. 27.2 grams, 30 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
The rayed solar symbol (Argead Star, Vergina Star) is interpreted as the historical royal symbol of the ancient Macedonian Dynasty of the Argeads, with its most famous member being Alexander the Great. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Tanged Spearhead
14th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Leaf-shaped blade with raised midrib extending to the rectangular-section tang with a bent finial. 171 grams, 25.5 cm
Ex Abelita collection, 1990s. -
Greek Mauritanian Kingdom Lead Slingshot of King Mastanesosus
Circa 80-49 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Biconical in profile with casting seam and reserved monogram to obverse 'REX·SOS'; Neo-Punic monogram to reverse. 67.3 grams, 40 mm
Acquired on the UK art market, early 2000s. Property of a London, UK, antiquarian.
This remarkable slingshot offers a rare insight into a little-known period in the history of the Kingdom of Mauretania in the first century B.C. The piece can be linked to King Mastanesosus, who is known to have shortened his name to “Sos.” He was the son of Bocchus I (c. 110–80s BC), the ruler who famously betrayed King Jugurtha of Numidia to Sulla and the Roman Republic. The inscription in Latin shows the growing influence of Rome at the time. It may even suggest that Roman slingers were part of Sosus’s army. During this period, Mauretania was already coming under Roman control and influence. Later, Bocchus II, the grandson of Sosus, supported the winning side in Rome’s civil war, and Mauretania became a client kingdom. This eventually led to its full absorption into the Roman Empire after the murder of King Ptolemy, son of Juba, by the emperor Caligula. The reverse of the slingshot shows a monogram in neo-Punic, similar to those found on coins from the same period. This is almost certainly a personal symbol or mark of Sosus himself. The use of both Latin and neo-Punic makes the piece bilingual, which is particularly interesting.
