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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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Luristan Bronze Axehead
12th-11th century B.C.Estimate: £250 - 350 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £133
A spike-butted axehead with a short cylindrical socket with four furrowed ribs leading to four short spikes, blade with curved upper and lower edges and a convex cutting edge. 390 grams, 22 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
It is difficult to know whether this type of axe, given its high decoration in some specimens, was used as a weapon or was a symbol of rank and prestige, employed for ceremonial or cult purposes. However, considering that the concept of parade weapons did not exist in the surrounding areas in Antiquity, these axes were most probably used for both military and ceremonial purposes. -
Greek Mauritanian Kingdom Lead Slingshot of King Mastanesosus
Circa 80-49 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Lentoid in form with raised legend to obverse 'REX·SOS'; Neo-Punic monogram to reverse. 72.8 grams, 40 mm
Acquired on the UK art market, early 2000s. Property of a London, UK, antiquarian.
This remarkable slingshot offers a rare insight into a little-known period in the history of the Kingdom of Mauretania in the first century BC. The piece can be linked to King Mastanesosus, who is known to have shortened his name to “Sos.” He was the son of Bocchus I (c. 110–80s BC), the ruler who famously betrayed King Jugurtha of Numidia to Sulla and the Roman Republic. The Latin inscription reflects Rome's growing influence at the time. It may even suggest that Roman slingers were part of Sosus’s army. During this period, Mauretania was already coming under Roman control and influence. Later, Bocchus II, the grandson of Sosus, supported the winning side in Rome’s civil war, and Mauretania became a client kingdom. This eventually led to its full absorption into the Roman Empire after the murder of King Ptolemy, son of Juba, by the emperor Caligula. The reverse of the slingshot shows a monogram in neo-Punic, similar to those found on coins from the same period. This is almost certainly a personal symbol or mark of Sosus himself. The use of both Latin and Neo-Punic makes the piece bilingual, which is particularly interesting. -
Luristan Bronze Socketted Axehead
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
With a short socketted shaft and flange to the mouth, broadening blade towards the cutting edge. 367 grams, 12 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
