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LOT 1042
Western Asiatic Paddle-Shaped Axehead
3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.
6 1/4 in. (335 grams, 16 cm).
A copper-alloy axehead with roughly lozenge-shaped butt, oblong socket and paddle-shaped cheeks; incised concentric lines following the outline of the butt and flared, projecting knop at the centre. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEarly 1990s London collection.
Acquired on the UK art market.
From a private collection, Lancashire, UK.
See Gernez, G., L’armament en métal au Proche et Moyen-Orient: des origines a 1750 av. J.C., Paris, 2007, fig.2.16, pls.86-88, for the type.
FootnotesThe axe belongs to subtype H2.J.b of the Gernez classification. These axes are characterised by decoration often executed with remarkable care and technical skill. The enlargement and indentation of the back of the collar varies, whilst the shape of the blade is, by contrast, standardised, with divergent rectilinear edges and a straight cutting edge or, more rarely, a rounded cutting edge, as in the example offered here.
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AUCTIONS:
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Western Asiatic Dagger with Integral Hilt
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
A cast dagger with leaf-shaped blade, round-section grip with wide flat tang and lobe pommel. 740 grams, 40 cm
Fine condition.
Abelita family collection, 1980-2015. -
Viking Period Socketted Spearhead Group
Circa 8th-10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £663
A group of three short iron spearheads with lentoid-section lanceolate blade, short neck and tapering circular socket with forge-welded split, single hole for attachment pin; remains of wood inside one of the shafts. 578 grams total, 24.5-28.5 cm
Acquired 1971-1972. From the collection of the vendor's father. Property of a London, UK, collector.
The spears belong to the type A of the first main group of Viking spears, the so-called Frankish spearheads, which occur between 750 and 950 A.D., but mainly in the 8th and 9th centuries. The Mediterranean influence is still evident on the foliate shape of the blade. -
Babylonian Duck-Billed Axehead
2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £364
A bronze duck-billed axehead with a curved, beak-shaped blade, with two pierced eyes and a raised ridge down the centre. 170 grams, 10 cm
Acquired in the 1990s. Ex Paris Gallery.
This axe corresponds to the type H4B of the Gernez classification. Several of these models, with their moulds, are known from the Levant, like those in Byblos, Ras Shamra, and Tell Arqa. On the other hand, a workshop level II of the Kültepe karum delivered two moulds, showing a local production of arms intended either for export or for the inhabitants originating from Mesopotamia or the Levant. This sub-type of eye-axes is characteristic of the Middle Bronze Age 1 (2050-1750 B.C.).
