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LOT 1836
Western Asiatic Bronze Spearhead
9TH-7TH CENTURY B.C.
14 3/8 in. (15 in.) (365 grams total, spearhead: 36.5 cm (38.2 cm including stand)).
Comprising a leaf-shaped blade with a midrib and a long tapering socket; accompanied by a display stand, repaired.
ProvenanceEx Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
LiteratureCf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, pp.242-243, and p.632, no.284, for similar; Overlaet, B., ‘Luristan metalwork in the Iron Age’ in Stöllner, T., Slotta, R. & Vatandoust, A. (eds.), Persiens Antike Pracht. Bergbau - Handwerk – Archäologie, Bochum, 2004, pp. 328-338, fig.7, p.335.
FootnotesThe spear, belonging to 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 the 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 the 9th-7th century B.C.
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LOT 1836
Western Asiatic Bronze Spearhead
Estimate £120 - 170€140 - 200 (for guidance only)$160 - 230 (for guidance only)
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Greek Lead Slingshot with Trident of Poseidon
3rd-1st century B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
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From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
Bulbous, undecorated body with dome filler hole; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 670 grams, 12.1 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 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'.
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. -
Western Asiatic Polished Stone Macehead
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Ovoid body with a round socket. 233 grams, 63 mm
From the collection of a London, UK, gentleman, 1990s.
