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LOT 1477
Western Asiatic Integral Hilted Bronze Short Sword
LATE 3RD-2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
17 1/8 in. (713 grams, 43.5 cm).
With a broad, lentoid-section flat blade, rounded tip, sloping sides, well marked shoulders with wide but short tang.
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Inassa, M., 'Daggers in ancient Mesopotamia' in Journal of Archaeological Research and Studies, vol.2, March 2018, pp.1-27, fig.1, p.26.
FootnotesThe sword finds similarity with a one from the Royal Cemetery of Ur. This is the most primitive form of dagger, consisting of a simple, pointed blade having slightly convex outline shoulders sloping to a short tang which has no rivets, and was probably hafted to wood with bitumen.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1477
Western Asiatic Integral Hilted Bronze Short Sword
Estimate £200 - 300€230 - 350 (for guidance only)$270 - 410 (for guidance only)
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Hellenistic Rhodian Lead Slingshot with Scorpion
3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £598
Lentoid-section and depicting a stylised scorpion to one side, a type sometimes known to have the Rhodian legend ΚΑΛΑ to verso. 29.6 grams, 29 mm
From a Manchester, UK, collection, 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
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 by M. Manov and N. Torbov, as: “nice things sting like a scorpion.” -
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Luristan Bronze Long Arrowhead
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
Triangular blade with raised midrib extending to the short socket with rectangular-section tang. 32 grams, 13 cm
From the private collection of John Fox, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, UK, antiquarian and archaeologist; his collection assembled in the 1950s-1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Piriform in profile with narrow point and domed mouth; the body decorated with impressed concentric circles; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 510 grams, 13.3 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s onwards. 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'. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
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.
