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LOT 1436
Western Asiatic Bronze Spearhead
1500-1000 B.C.
11 1/4 in. (247 grams, 28.5 cm).
With heavily ridged and tapered blade, short collared shaft and tapered bent tang with round stud terminal.
ProvenanceAcquired in Europe in 1997.
European private collection.
Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, s. cat 280, for type
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1436
Western Asiatic Bronze Spearhead
Estimate £300 - 400€350 - 460 (for guidance only)$410 - 540 (for guidance only)
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Babylonian Bronze Duck-Billed Axehead
2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Duck-billed shaft-hole axehead featuring a curved, tongue-shaped blade with two voided 'eyes' and a raised median ridge; repaired. 168 grams, 10.3 cm
Collected from 1969-1999. From the collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK. -
Hellenistic Rhodian Lead Slingshot with Scorpion
3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Lentoid-section and depicting a stylised scorpion to one side and inscription 'ΚΑΛΑ' on the other. 26 grams, 31 mm
Ex Cummings collection, UK, 1990s.
Together with the Balearic slingers, Rhodian slingers were considered to be the best of the Hellenistic world, and they were also used in the Roman army. The slingshots with an image of a scorpion on one side and with an inscription ΚΑΛΑ on the other are believed to originate from the Island of Rhodes. On these sling bullets ΚΑΛΑ should be translated as “nice things.” Of course, ironically, these “nice things” were designed to kill enemies and to sting like a scorpion, and the message of those with the image of a scorpion could be understood, as proposed ny M. Manov and N. Torbov, as: “nice things sting like a scorpion.” -
Bronze Age Socketted Spearhead
Circa 19th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
With foliate blade and tapering socket. 183 grams, 25.6 cm
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
The bronze spearhead developed considerably during the period of the Assyrian colonies in Anatolia and even during the period Karum III-IV, maintaining consistently its southern shape. Conical points are also known from Bogazkoy's Karum levels. While spearheads from the first half of the 2nd millennium B.C. were hafted by means of a tang, with two slots in the blade providing additional support, most of the Late Bronze Age spearheads were socketted.
