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LOT 1038
Western Asiatic Socketted Axehead
3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.
5 1/8 in. (545 grams, 13 cm).
A Bronze Age axehead with swept blade, large socket with raised circumferential rib and a vertical rib to the rear. [No Reserve]
ProvenancePrivate UK collection, 1980s-1990s.
Acquired from a UK gallery, circa 2000.
Cf. Gernez, G., L’armament en métal au Proche et Moyen-Orient: des origines a 1750 av. J.C., Paris, 2007, p.155 vol. I, subtype H.2K.C, for the type.
FootnotesThis axe belongs to a group mainly including those of rectangular shape, the blades themselves rectangular or with slightly divergent edges, with a straight or rounded edges.
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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Elamite Ceremonial Axe with Silver Sleeve
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Estimate: £12,000 - 17,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £6,000
A bronze ceremonial axe with later sheet-silver sleeve to the shaft, attached with ball-headed rivets; gilt dome finial to each end, the lower one in a gusseted collar. 750 grams, 45.5 cm
Acquired in 1996. Ex Samad Khameneh collection. Private Swiss collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11647-199005.
The axe belongs typologically to Type 4 of Maxwell-Hyslop’s classification, with a long and thin shaft narrowing towards the base. When technical developments resulted in heavier axe-blades, it was necessary to prolong the socket into a shaft tube and to cut away the underside of the blade where it joined to the shaft. The edge of the blade was curved and this shifted the point of impact of the cutting edge. -
Luristan Bronze Dagger
14th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £390
A bronze dagger with lentoid-section two-edged triangular blade, rounded lower guard, columnar grip and domed pommel with six radiating spokes and void between. 156 grams, 26.5 cm
Ex S. Motamed collection. with Bellman's Auctions, 20th-26th June 2015, lot 2482. Property of a London gentleman. -
Migration Period Spatha Sword Blade with Fittings
Circa 4th-5th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,950
A military assemblage comprising: a double-edged spatha with a lentoid parallel-sided iron blade and pointed tip, battle nicks to both cutting edges; long tang with a bronze fastening rivet in situ; oblate chalcedony pommel; gilt copper-alloy chape scabbard fitting with fastening holes and a pair of round scabbard or baldric fittings. 937 grams total, 5-81.3 cm
Fine condition
Acquired 1971-1972. From the collection of the vendor's father. Property of a London, UK, collector. 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 a search certificate number no.11587-198852.
Prestigious swords with richly trimmed sheaths, guards and hilts of the Great Migration Period on the Cimmerian Bosphorus are very few, although some specimens have been excavated from Kerch, Phanagoria, Hermonassa and Dzhurga-Oba. They were either custom-made or received as war booty. This sword belongs to a group of spathae of late Roman typology spread among the Germanic and Nomad foederati, and garrison troops of the Northern Black Sea and Bosphorus.
