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LOT 1123
Western Asiatic Bronze Axehead
2ND-1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
10 1/4 in. (1.3 kg, 26 cm).
With central socket and shaft; cutting blade set vertically at a right-angle; the short pick-adze blade arranged horizontally.
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
Cf. Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 2, London, 2004, item 21.
FootnotesThe earliest axe-adzes from the 3rd millennium B.C. were weapons and tools furnished with socket holes. Usually a socket was a more secure way of attaching the object to a wooden haft than having a tang. These weapons developed into a plethora of different forms in the 2nd millennium B.C., and the numerous new forms and were used until at least 800 B.C.
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AUCTIONS:
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Large Byzantine Silver Archer's Ring
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £520
Comprising a hoop with reserved triangular ornament on the edges and triangular plaque with foliage motifs, raised central panel with frond motif. 22.61 grams, 34.77 mm overall, 25.16 mm internal diameter
Acquired in the 1990s. Ex Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.
Archer rings in Late Byzantium and the medieval Balkans were connected with the employment of the powerful composite bow, but very often, in the 14th century they served as insignia of rank for aristocratic noblemen. Archaeological findings of archers’ rings originate mainly from fortified towns, including mining centres. Many were made in bone, simple in design and undecorated. In contrast, the ones made in bronze and silver were usually decorated in rather uniform style, consisting of floral motifs on the head, mostly tulip and foliage, and linear motifs around the edges. This decoration combined Turkish, Central European and Eastern Roman traditional patterns. -
Assyrian Belt Fragment Group
9th-7th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £442
Comprising two bronze belt sections, each with a ferrous backing; applied sheet-bronze rectangular plates held in place with domed rivets and washers, some decorated with a border of pelleted triangular punchmarks topped with a pellet or ring-and-dot motif; one fragment with finial with remains of a riveted hook, the other with corresponding hole. 609 grams total, 23-30 cm
Ex Axel Guttmann collection. -
Luristan Arrowhead Group
13th-9th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
Comprising four tanged arrowheads, having large elongated triangular blades and raised midrib, sharp central groove, rectangular section stem with handle for the shaft, barbed shoulders and convex or squared sides. 161 grams total, 13-17 cm
From the private collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK, 1969-1999; thence by descent.
These arrowheads seem to belong to the type V, subcategory types A and C according to the classification of Khorasani and Negahban. In the four categories of triangular bronze arrowheads from Luristan, Marlik and Northern Iran individuated by Negahban, subtypes A and C of type V are larger arrow heads with barbed shoulders and triangular heads. These types of arrowheads were commonly used in Anatolia and Mesopotamia from the 2nd millennium B.C., but apparently their employment began earlier in this area, where types like these occur alongside the non-barbed, predominantly ribbed and tanged types.
