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LOT 0245
Western Asiatic Bronze Dagger with Stone Pommel
3RD MILLENIUM B.C.
16 1/2 in. (693 grams, 42 cm).
Comprising a leaf-shaped blade with broad midrib to both faces, square-section tang and pommel with discoid bronze top displaying a stylised floral or geometric motif with parallel pairs of lines radiating from the centre and a pellet in each segment.
ProvenanceEx old English collection.
Acquired from Timeline Originals, UK, 2015.
The Kusmirek Collection, UK.
See Gorelik, M., Weapons of Ancient East, IV millennium BC-IV century BC, Saint Petersburg (2003), pl.IV, no.16, for similar.
FootnotesThis type of daggers include lanceolate blades with a pronounced piercing and cutting function, often reinforced with a convex stiffening rib or fullers that follow the contour of the blade (Gorelik, 2003, pls. IV, 15-21, 23-25). It is commonly believed that the fullers were designed to drain blood, but this is a misconception; their purpose is to increase the strength of the blade and reduce its weight.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0245
Western Asiatic Bronze Dagger with Stone Pommel
Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
-
Early Georgian Incendiary Iron Cannon Ball
Early 19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
Featuring a circular opening to receive fuse and plug to one face; hollow-formed. 3.9 kg, 11 cm diameter
Fine condition.
Acquired after 2000. Property of a Buckinghamshire, UK, gentleman.
The shrapnel shell is named after Lieutenant-General Henry Shrapnel (1761-1842), a British officer who devised the hollow, gunpowder-filled ball that was fused to explode either in the air or on the ground with the resulting ball fragments proving to be an effective anti-personnel weapon; later types were filled with lead musket balls and powder to make the weapon even more effective against troops; such projectiles were used both with field artillery cannon and with mortars. -
Greek Bronze Arrowhead Group
5th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Primarily composed of socketted types with triangular cross-sections. 198 grams total, 26-43 mm
Ex private collection, 1980s. Acquired on the UK art market in the 1990s. -
Luristan Bronze Hilted Dirk
Circa 1000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
The blade with a tapering profile, triangular in overall form, with square shoulders, penannular guard with strong midrib, flanged hilt with straight grip, widening slightly into a fan-shaped pommel. 363 grams, 47.5 cm
Acquired from Alan Cherry, Bournemouth, UK. Ex Alexander Cotton collection, Hampshire, UK 1980s.
These types of short sword or dirks were usually cast in one piece, and the penannular rib in relief was cast on at the same time with the handle of the blade. In some cases, however, the penannular rib was later cast on the dagger, possibly to strengthen a weak point at the junction of hilt and blade. The flanged hilt was originally filled with organic material like bone.