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LOT 1408
Western Asiatic Bronze Dagger
3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.
11 1/2 in. (381 grams, 28.8 cm).
Featuring a flat leaf-shaped blade, slightly rounded shoulders with curved terminals, square-section handle.
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
See Maxwell-Hyslop, R., 'Daggers and swords in Western Asia: a Study from Prehistoric Times to 600BC,' in Iraq, Volume 8, 1946, pp.1-65, pl.I, type 1.
FootnotesThis was one of the earliest forms of Western Asiatic daggers, but until the blade was strengthened by thickening or by having a midrib at the centre, and rivets were introduced, it must have often buckled up on impact. However, when compared to the earliest Egyptian types with its short triangular blade, this Asiatic dagger is longer, narrower, and probably more useful as an offensive weapon.
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AUCTIONS:
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Bactrian Decorated Stone Vessel
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,235
Drum-shaped with squared rim, sidewall with reserved decoration in three registers, hatched panels to the rim above stepped geometric forms above vertical ribbing. 305 grams, 85 mm wide
Acquired before 1983. Ex London gallery, 1990s. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Cylinder Seal with Standing Figure
Cypriot Type, circa 1300 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,105
Cylinder with cord and bead handles; accompanied by a copy of an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Cylinder Seal of Black Stone, 27 x 10 mm. The design is very full: the central figure is standing, wearing a short garment reaching just above the knees and holding a spear in one raised hand, before him is a kneeling figure, then there are three quadrupeds, two more or less naturalistic, one with wings and a bird's head. There is also a heraldically placed bird and numerous lines and shapes to fill every vacant space. This seal is a rare Cypriot type, c.1300 B.C., from either Cyprus itself or the adjacent coastal lands of Asia Minor or Syria.'; accompanied by a museum-quality impression. 6.27 grams total, 8.2-27.3 mm
UK private collection, acquired 1980-1983. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly note, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert in July 1991. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Amlash Bronze Spearhead
9th-7th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
Comprising a leaf-shaped blade with midrib and a long tapering socket. 211 grams, 37 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The massive spear, belonging to the type 3 of the Khorasani classification, was used by chariot fighters to strike each other, or the enemy infantry from above. Similar specimens with longer sockets were excavated by Negahban in Amlash area. According to Moorey, sockets as long, if not longer than the blade, are a characteristic of Iranian spearheads in the late 2nd and early 1st millennium B.C. A similar spearhead from the Tappeh Sialk has been dated to 9th-7th century B.C.
