Western Asiatic Polished Stone Macehead

Triangular in section with prominent flanges extending beyond the mouth of the integral socket; mounted in a glass display on a wooden stand with handwritten legend. 28.3 grams, 31 mm



From Asia. Acquired on the UK art market. From the private collection of an East Anglian, UK, Specialist Collector.

Double-edged long sword (spatha) of type Osterburken-Kemathen; the blade with squared shoulders, broken into two parts for sacrificial reasons, tapering towards the point; sturdy tang partially preserved; wooden traces of the scabbard and hilt still visible; accompanied by a bronze outer rim of a scabbard; restored. 630 grams total, 78 cm long



From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.

The deliberate fragmentation of a sword, often into three pieces, was a symbolic act of ‘killing’ the weapon, which was then placed as a grave good or offered in a ceremonial context. This was a Germanic custom already visible in the Vandal Przeworsk culture around the 3rd or 4th century A.D., which continued in Northern European areas until the 5th and the 6th centuries A.D.

Comprising a crescentic blade with two spurs at each end intended to brace against the shaft, a narrow neck, flared socket with vertical spurs and a knop finial projecting from the rear; ribbed decoration on the rear edge; one side of the blade incised with a symbol of the god sun Shamash, depicted as a four-pointed star with wavy rays alternating with straight rays, a winged solar disc inside. 294 grams, 12.7 cm



UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Private collection, London, UK. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13043-248308.

This specific type of weapon is called an ‘anchor’ axe because of its shape. Anchor axes have been excavated in Egypt, at Byblos and Ur. Many of them have been said to come from Iran as well, especially from the area of Gilan. The present specimen, in which the shaft hole is joined to the blade by the central tang, is of the same specific type as that excavated in Ur. According to Calmeyer, these axes developed in Mesopotamia. Moorey further explains that the large numbers of these axes reported from Iran could derive from Mesopotamian imports. The Mesopotamian origin of our axe could be further confirmed by the incised motif on the blade, the symbol of the sun god Shamash. The ‘star of Shamash’, typically represented as a four-pointed star with wavy lines placed between the points, is attested as early as the period of Sargon of Accad, who dominated Mesopotamia in 2200 B.C. This symbol can be visible on various Mesopotamian artworks, like the ‘Kudurru’ of Ritti-Marduk at the British Museum; however, dated to 1125-1104 B.C. Another representation is visible on the Tablet of Shamash at the BM, dated 800 B.C. It is also possible, therefore, that the symbol of Shamash was incised on the axe in a later period, but not later than 800 B.C.