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LOT 1402
Western Asiatic Bronze Flat Axe
4TH MILLENNIUM B.C.
7 1/4 in. (138 grams, 18.5 cm).
Formed with a rounded butt and slightly flared cutting edge; flat in cross-section. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
Cf. Çetin, A., Bilgi, Ö., Weapons of the Protohistoric Age, Istanbul, 1989, figs.21-22, pp.50-51.
FootnotesThis type of flat axes appeared in the last phase of the Late Chalcolithic Age. Flat axes without lugs were used as cutting tools or in war. In the later examples the sides of the blades was gradually widening towards the convex cutting edge.
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AUCTIONS:
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North-West Persian Bronze Short Sword with Mushroom Pommel
Late 2nd-early 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,600
The hilt with conical openwork hollow-cast pommel, grip decorated with horizontal grooves and twisted zig-zag pattern, crescentic guard decorated with waves, long blade with ridged mid-grip. 613 grams, 58.5 cm
Kuizenga collection, the Netherlands, acquired in Utrecht 21 December 1977. with Bonhams, London, 7 December 2023, no.154.
This category of swords has been classified by Khorasani as 'swords with a mushroom pommel' and are usually characterised by a solid-cast hilt with a penannular guard, a ribbed or variously decorated grip and the conical hollow-cast mushroom pommel. Usually the blade is multi-fullered and tapers to a sharp tip. Moorey considers them to be from the end of the 2nd millennium B.C. -
Heavy Western Asiatic Bronze Axehead
Late 3rd millennium B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
With swept blade, large socket with shallow raised circumferential rib and a vertical rib to the rear. 741 grams, 14.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
In the middle of the 3rd millennium B.C., the most widespread types of axes were those made for splitting and those for cutting. In the last third of this millennium there emerged a sharp differentiation between such axes. Such a sharp division by function should be associated with the influence of the Syro-Palestinian tradition. Such differentiation, in the absence of some multifunctional forms, can be observed from the end of the 4th millennium B.C. and during the 3rd millennium B.C. -
Turco-Mongol 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
14th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Piriform body with horizontal bands to the shoulder, flanged collar, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 458 grams, 18 cm
From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 1990s onwards.
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.
