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LOT 1512
Western Asiatic Polished Stone Macehead
3RD-2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
3 1/2 in. (456 grams, 90 mm).
With slightly carinated equator to the globular body and tubular shaft.
ProvenanceFrom the collection of North West London, UK, gentleman, early 2000s.
LiteratureSee Gorelik, M., Weapons of Ancient East, IV millennium BC-IV century BC, Saint Petersburg, 2003, pl.XXX, no.47, mace of a deity, detail of the image on the “Stela of Kites” Eanatuma, Ngirsu, mid-3rd millennium B.C.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Luristan Bronze Socketted Adze
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Long tubular socket, rectangular-section tapering blade with convex cutting edge. 355 grams, 14.2 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s. -
Greek Slingshot with Snake
4th-1st century B.C.Estimate: £250 - 350 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £125
Lentoid in form with raised figure of a coiled snake to one face, possible legend to reverse. 31.2 grams, 31 mm
Private collection, Austria. Private collection, Europe. -
Greek Lead Slingshot
3rd-1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Biconical in profile with casting seam and reserved legend 'ΣΟΜA' to one face, 'HPAKAEI' to reverse, with the possible meaning 'Body of Herakles'. 29.8 grams, 29 mm
Acquired on the German art market before 2000. Private collection, Munich, Germany.
The principal varieties of the inscriptions found on sling bullets are: 1) the name of a man, a place or a person; 2) the name of a deity, sometimes on its own and sometimes in connection with ‘victory’; 3) words conveying orders, jokes or sarcasms. Here the inscription connects the power of the bullet to the mythical god of strength.