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LOT 1595
Western Asiatic Bronze Blade
14TH-10TH CENTURY B.C.
13 3/8 in. (348 grams, 34 cm).
The leaf-shaped ovate blade with rounded, gently curved shoulders and raised midrib, flat rectangular-sectioned tang tapering to a bent end with the remains of a fastening button.
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
See Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, s.cat.270, for type.
FootnotesSimilar spearheads were excavated in the Marlik Royal cemetery by Dr Negahban, see for example in tomb 47, Trench XXIIE. They were the evolution of a typology which began much earlier in Mesopotamia and the fertile crescent, the type 4 of the Stronach classification, with straight square-section tang, usually thickened at the base with a button tang. The foliate blade was wide and exaggerated in some specimens excavated at Marlik.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1595
Western Asiatic Bronze Blade
Estimate £100 - 140€120 - 160 (for guidance only)$140 - 190 (for guidance only)
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Luristan Bronze Sword
Late 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £598
Later hilt with mushroom-shaped pommel, openwork grip with 'chain'-shaped pattern, crescentic guard, long sloping blade with rectangular-section mid-ridge. 1.05 kg, 55.2 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
These bronze swords were characterised by a solid-cast hilt with penannular guard, a grip equipped with raised shaped figures and a conical, hollow-cast mushroom pommel. The blade had a very pronounced shaped central midrib. In the complete specimens the hilt was usually cast with the blade. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Piriform in profile with band of impressed rosettes to the shoulder, mouth chipped and partly absent. 539 grams, 11.8 cm
From a specialist London, UK, arms and armour collection, 1990s. 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'. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
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. -
Medieval Iron Crossbow Bolt Collection
15th-16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Comprising three hefty bolts, two socketted and one with a short tang. 174 grams total, 5.5-10.6 cm
Acquired from Coincraft, London, UK. From the private collection of Kenneth Machin (1936-2020), Buckinghamshire, UK; his collection of antiquities and natural history was formed since 1948; thence by descent. Accompanied by three original certificates of authenticity from Coincraft. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
