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Click here to subscribe1st century A.D. and later. Comprising: a small bronze animal figure; three ceramic spindle whorls/weights; tinned ring with keeled hoop; a bronze swan-head finial; and a bronze ring with blue glass intaglio. 91 grams total, 20-45 mm (3/4 - 1 3/4 in.).Property of a UK gentleman, acquired in the 1970s. Property of an East Sussex, UK, gentleman. [7, No Reserve]
Circa 1000 B.C. The blade with a tapering profile, triangular in overall form, with slender shoulders, penannular guard with strong midrib, flanged hilt with crenellated grip, widening slightly into a fan-shaped pommel, cracked. Cf. similar sword in Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, cat.12, for a similar weapon. 421 grams, 42 cm (16 1/2 in.).Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.These types of short sword or dirks were usually cast in one piece, and the penannular rib in relief was cast on at the same time with the handle of the blade. In some cases, however, the penannular rib was later cast on the dagger, possibly to strengthen a weak point at the junction of hilt and blade. The flanged hilt was originally inlaid with organic material such as bone.
Circa 2nd-4th century A.D. Modelled in relief with openwork elements, stylised detailing to both figures; hollow reverse. Cf. Mille, B., 'The Casting Techniques of Antique South Arabian Large Bronze Statues,' in Jett, P., McCarthy, B. and Douglas, J.G. (eds.), Scientific Research on Ancient Asian Metallurgy: Proceedings of Fifth Forbes Symposium at the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, Smithsonian Institution, 28-29/10/2010, Washington, 2012, pp.225-247, fig.5, for similar images. 182 grams, 10.2 cm high (4 in.).Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection.Hollow cast bronze images of Eros riding a lion are linked to the Eastern Levant and have been found for example in Tamna, probably a Roman import. The importance of long-distance contacts within the Eastern Mediterranean areas was rapidly reflected in provincial artistic styles, probably as soon as in Hellenistic times, at the beginning of the third century B.C., possibly even earlier. The unquestionable Greek influence led a number of scholars to define three main styles for the bronzes discovered in the eastern Roman provinces: a local type and iconography locally produced, Greek or Roman imports, and Oriental, Hellenistic, or Roman style, locally produced.
1976-1980 A.D. Lloyd laing - Pottery in Britain 4000 BC to AD 1900 - A Guide to Identifying Pot Sherds - 2003, card covers, 133 pp, colour photographs, line drawings; H.N. Savory - National Museum of Wales - Guide Catalogue of the Early Iron Age Collections - 1976, card covers, 119 pp, monochrome photographs, line drawings; H.N. Savory - National Museum of Wales - Guide Catalogue of the Bronze Age Collections - 1980, card covers, 258 pp, monochrome photographs, line drawings. 1.58 kg total, 24.6 x 18.5 - 25 x 19 cm (9 5/8 x 7 1/4 - 9 7/8 x 7 1/2 in.).Property of a Stowmarket, UK, gentleman. [3, No Reserve]
Circa 10th-15th century A.D. Comprising: a penannular bronze earring pair with integral granulated pendant drops; a bronze penannular pair with thick hoop, a white stone bead attached with coiled wire to the hoop; a pair of silver earrings with round-section hoops; a pair of annular bronze hoops with collars, one with a blue glass bead and the other with a collared silver bead. 35.2 grams total, 31-44 mm (1 1/4 - 1 3/4 in.).Acquired in the 1980s-1990s. Property of a Nottinghamshire gentleman. [8, No Reserve]
Circa 8th century B.C. The head covered by a small low-top cap; sharp and pronounced nose, prominent eyebrows, small swollen mouth; the hair divided into two braids; mounted on a custom-made display stand. Cf. Lilliu, G., Sculture della Sardegna Nuragica, Nuoro, 2008, figs.4, 5, 7, 28, for similar heads. 53 grams total, 91 mm including stand (3 5/8 in.).Ex Frank Sternberg collection, Zürich, Switzerland, circa 1980-1985. Property of an East Sussex, UK, private collector.These bronzes are stylised representations, although very detailed as regards to the elements of material culture, of warriors, tribal leaders, priests, athletes, male characters and women of society of the late Sardinian Bronze Age and the Iron Age.
3rd-1st century B.C. Comprising two rings, one with an attachment bar with bulbous body, rectangular bar with attachment holes below. Cf. Allen, S., Celtic Warrior 300 BC-AD 100, Oxford, 2001, pp.44-45, 57. 275 grams total, 9.4-10 cm wide (3 3/4 - 4 in.).Found near Wetwang, East Yorkshire, UK. Acquired from Spink, York, UK, 2009. Property of a Nottinghamshire gentleman. Accompanied by an old handwritten identification slip including provenance.Celtic horse harness and chariot fittings were finely worked and decorated to emphasise the status of the warrior and the reverence of the horse as a living symbol of the sun god. Bits, lynch pins and terrets were made of iron and bronze. [2, No Reserve]
14th-11th century B.C. With triangular blade, having a barbed deltoid shape and a rounded projecting midrib tapering towards the sharp point, cylindrical stem and rectangular sectioned tang: accompanied by a custom-made display stand. See Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, figure 470, for the type. 36 grams, 21.5 cm (140 grams total, 22.5 cm high including stand) (8 1/2 in. (8 7/8 in.)).Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.According to Khorasani, this type of arrowhead belongs to a subcategory of the category of type V of Luristan arrow points. In the four categories of triangular bronze arrowheads from Luristan, Marlik and Northern Iran individuated by Negahban, subtypes C and D of type V are larger arrow or javelin heads, C with barbed shoulders and D with round shoulders.
Circa 1st century A.D. Formed as a tablet-shaped stamp (signaculum), with raised border above and below containing an inscription in Latin in reverse over two lines, reading: 'Q[UINTI] POM [PONII] CRE [SCONII} ? / OCTAVIAN[I]' possibly translating to: 'Of Quintus Pomponius Cresconius Octavianus', this latter being the owner; with a large loop to verso. Cf. Di Stefano Manzella, I., ’Signacula ex aere in officina: aggiornamenti e novitá di una ricerca multidisciplinare’ in Sylloge Epigraphica Barcinonensis x, 2012, pp. 229-246, fig.1, for similar. 92 grams, 64 mm (2 1/2 in.).From an old private collection formed before 1985. Accompanied by a copy of a previous dealer's certificate of authenticity including provenance.Used to stamp documents and a broad range of different materials and food, signacula came into use in the Roman res publica during the 2nd century B.C., becoming both popular and widely used in many areas of everyday life during the Imperial period. These signacula were not exclusively used in the sphere of economy and property administration, but also in public and private sphere, determining the identity of their owners. The bronze stamp - also definable as a tessera, like the wooden one - was an instrumentum vicarium (auxiliary tool) of the annulus signatorius (seal ring), but compared to the annulus, it was much stronger and more practical, capable of leaving a better recognisable imprint. By analogy, the press note of a wooden or terracotta stamp also had an important certifying function, but the object that produced it only lasted a limited time, while the signaculum ex aere (bronze stamp) lasted a lifetime.
1500-900 B.C. A small leaf-shaped blade with lozenge-section midrib; two small lateral loops. Cf. Evans, J., The Ancient Bronze Implements, Weapons and Ornaments of Great Britain and Ireland, London, 1881, item 395; Ehrenberg, M., Bronze Spearheads from Berks, Bucks and Oxon, BAR 34, Oxford, 1977, item 140. 64 grams, 13.5 cm (5 1/4 in.).Found Cambridgeshire, UK, 2000s. Property of an Essex gentleman.
Early 1st millennium B.C. With a narrow tapering blade, slightly enlarged in the guard area and narrowing again towards the 'ear' pommel. See Christie's, Axel Guttmann collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, Part 2, London, South Kensington, Wednesday 28 April 2004, for a similar dagger (lot 21, p.22). 61 grams, 33 cm (13 in.).Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.The techniques used by Luristan craftsmen to create bronze weapons were highly sophisticated. They used a wide variety of surface finishes: repoussé work, chasing and engraving. The fact that the mountains of Luristan were particularly rich in copper and tin, both required for making bronze, was a significant advantage to the metalworking industry. The weapons produced developed into a plethora of different forms in the 2nd millennium B.C. to at least 800 B.C. These objects include axes and adzes, pick axes, daggers and dirks, spears, swords, helmets and shields. Weapons were usually cast, but armour parts were also made by the hammering process.
1st-4th century A.D. Comprising a variety of items including lead weights, lead plaque inked with 'River Bank'; bronze brooches, coins, rings, mounts and other items, most fragmentary. 1.3 kg total, 1-10.6 cm (3/8 - 4 1/8 in.).Found St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK. Acquired from the finder in 2008. Property of a Nottinghamshire gentleman. [106, No Reserve]
1st millennium B.C. Domed with a rolled rim and vent at the apex; decorative band above the rim with reserved lozenges on a pounced field each with an impressed dimple to the centre; cracked to one side. See Makhortykh, S., Bronze bells of the 7th –6th century BC from the Scythian burial – mounds in the south of Eastern Europe, in ?????????? ???????????, vol.11, Odessa, 2016, for discussion. 19.47 grams, 48 mm (1 7/8 in.).Acquired early 1990s. Ex private American collection; thence by descent. Private Swiss collection since 1998. For this specific lot, 5% import VAT is applicable on the hammer price
5th-7th century A.D. Group of two bronze lamps comprising: one with heart-shaped body, squat nozzle with recessed disc finial, hinged lid shaped as a scallop, basal disc with square hole to accept a stand, two curled arms at the rear forming the handle with thumb-pad formed as a perching bird; one slipper-shaped with ovoid nozzle, scooped conical lid with regular piercings, piriform basal ring, curved arm to the rear developing to a leaf-shaped reflector. 748 grams total, 10-14.5 cm (4 - 5 3/4 in.).Collected from the 1950s-1980s by a distinguished university professor who served as Department Head, Dean and Vice President for a major university. Ex Emeritus collection, North America. Accompanied by a copy of a Spanish export licence. [2] For this specific lot, 5% import VAT is applicable on the hammer price
1st-4th century A.D. Comprising a curved single-edged iron blade; openwork bronze handle with a standing eagle finial; an open groove to the back of the eagle and handle to accept the folding blade. 37 grams, 14.5 cm (5 3/4 in.).Ex California, USA, collection formed since the late 1960s. European art market before the late 1990s. [No Reserve]
Late Period-Ptolemaic Period, 664-30 B.C. Standing before an enigmatic balloon-like object on a rectangular base with two supports flanking a short shank; mounted on a custom-made stand. Cf. Tiribilli, E., The bronze figurines of the Petrie Museum from 2000 BC to AD 400, GHP Egyptology 28, London, 2018, p.184, cat.no.259, for a less elaborate Wepwawet standard terminal. 377 grams total, 12.5 cm high including stand (5 in.).Believed to have been collected (1899-1914) and in an early 20th century collection, with some references to Psamtik I, and a German funded expedition. Ex Ludwig Borchardt, Heliop. Private collection of Mr T.H., Norfolk, UK. Accompanied by a handwritten note from Ludwig Borchardt.Wepwawet, the canine god, is strongly linked with Abydos and kingship. His name means 'Opener of the Ways' and may have had military connotations as someone who clears the path for his king. In funerary texts, Wepwawet guided the dead through the Underworld. The image of the god on a standard, as seen in this example, was carried in processions associated with Osiris and kingship. The balloon-like object, known as shed-shed, is mysterious but may have symbolised the royal placenta, which was considered the king's 'double'.
Circa 10th century A.D. or earlier. A slightly bent irregular bar of hacked gold with rectangular cross-section, showing evidence of compression and fracture to each end, some subtle transverse lines on both of the main surfaces. See Hårdh, B., Silver in the Viking Age. A Regional-Economic Study, Acta Archaeologica Lundensia no.25, Stockholm, 1996; West, S. A., Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Finds From Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, Ipswich, 1998; Blackburn, M., Viking Coinage and Currency in the British Isles, London, 2011; Fern, C. Dickinson, T. & Webster, L., The Staffordshire Hoard: an Anglo-Saxon Treasure, London, 2019, items 657, 672, 673. 14.43 grams, 51 mm (2 in.).Found whilst searching with a metal detector on 1st May 2022 on a Romano-British site in Cambridgeshire, UK, by Trevor Singleton. Accompanied by a handwritten letter from the finder. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.CAM-D819F0 and workflow review page where it states: 'There is evidence that the bar fragment has been cut from both ends, suggesting Early Medieval (Viking Period) parallels.'This ingot was declared under the Treasure Act and subsequently determined by the British Museum to be of 'undiagnostic' date and therefore returned to the finder. Trevor Singleton maintains that it was recovered from a known Romano-British site, while in neighbouring fields Early Medieval (Late Saxon & Viking) items have been recovered and logged with the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Ingots of gold and silver were regularly produced in the Early Medieval period when trade took place between monetised economies (Anglo-Saxon England, Francia, Frisia) and their non-monetised neighbours in southern Scandinavia (West, 1998; Blackburn, 2011). Ingots were a convenient means of storing wealth which could be converted into display items (weapon fittings, clothing fasteners, tableware) or used to gild silver and bronze items (Hårdh, 1996).
Circa 8th century B.C. The head covered by a small low-top cap; sharp and pronounced nose, prominent eyebrows and eyes, small swollen mouth; the hair divided into two braids; mounted on a custom-made display stand. Cf. Lilliu, G., Sculture della Sardegna Nuragica, Nuoro, 2008, figs.4, 5, 7, 28, for similar heads. 55.8 grams total, 91 mm including stand (3 5/8 in.).Ex Frank Sternberg collection, Zürich, Switzerland, circa 1980-1985. Property of an East Sussex, UK, private collector.These bronzes are stylised representations, although very detailed as regards to the elements of material culture, of warriors, tribal leaders, priests, athletes, male characters and women of society of the late Sardinian Bronze Age and the Iron Age.
14th-10th century B.C. Comprising ten triangular arrowheads with tangs. See Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, figures 467 and 470, for some of these types. 203 grams total, 8.1-15 cm (3 1/8 - 5 7/8 in.).Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.Some of these arrowheads seem to belong to the type V, subcategory types A and C according to the classification of Khorasani and Negahban. In the four categories of triangular bronze arrowheads from Luristan, Marlik and Northern Iran described by Negahban, subtypes A and C of type V are larger arrow heads with barbed shoulders and triangular heads. These types of arrowheads were commonly used in Anatolia and Mesopotamia from the 2nd millennium B.C., but apparently their employment began earlier in this area, where types like these occur alongside the non-barbed, predominantly ribbed and tanged types. [10]
9th-11th century A.D. Piriform body with domed filler-hole, marked by horizontal lines to the shoulder; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. Cf. Arendt, W. I., Granaten des 13-14. Jahrhunderts, die an der Wolga gefunden sind, Zeitschrift fur Historische Waffen-und Kostumkunde, 11 (1926-8), p.42; cf. Arendt, W., Die Spharisch-konischen Gefasse aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; cf. Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16. 355 grams, 10.3 cm (4 in.).Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. 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 (??????? k???????) 9th-11th century AD'.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. Such were the ??????, vessels (sometimes also of bronze) used for Greek fire. They were called ?????? k?????? or ???????????? where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form. [No Reserve]
Circa 9th-7th century B.C. Leaf-shaped blade with a ribbed raised central ridge. Cf. MacGregor, A., Antiquities from Europe and the Near East in the collection of the Lord MacAlpine of West Green, Ashmolean Museum, 1987, no.11.45; pl.10, p.18. 118 grams, 17.5 cm (6 7/8 in.).From the collection of Dr Günter Wiedner, Bavaria, Germany, 1980s-2015. Property of an East Sussex, UK, private collector.These kind of spearheads are similar to the spearheads found in Irish Late Bronze Age hoards of Dowry period, although there are no channelled blades.
Circa 10th-12th century A.D. or later. Articulated enkolpion with loop; low-relief robed figure to each face in orans pose with legend above '?????C / N??[.]??C' (Saint ..) and ?????C?/?????C (Saint George). See Pitarakis, B., Les Croix-Reliquaires Pectorales Byzantines en Bronze, Paris, 2006, for discussion. 51 grams, 97 mm (3 3/4 in.).Acquired on the German art market before 2000. From an EU collection before 2020.
Circa 2nd-1st millennium B.C. Shaped as a crescent moon with pearled border. Cf. Ilan, D., 'The Crescent-Lunate Motif in the Jewellery of the Bronze and Iron Ages in the Ancient Near East' in Proceedings, 9th ICAANE, Basel 2014, Vol. 1, 137–150, figs.1,4, for parallels. 5.08 grams, 45 mm (1 3/4 in.).Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.The gold lunula was a characteristic type of necklace, collar, or crescent-shaped pendant of the late Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and most often early Bronze Age. The crescent appears in various forms in the material culture of the southern Levant. It also appears in Mesopotamian and Egyptian iconography. It is most frequently associated with the crescent moon and its related deity. Such pendants were worn at the neck, in contact with the body, as protective amulets.
Later 8th-9th century A.D. Irregular fragment from a bronze casket mount formed with four discoid panels each filled with dense regularly-displayed foliage and tendrils with lobe finials; central pierced disc with triquetra motifs in the spandrels; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. Cf. Hammond, B., British Artefacts vol.2 - Middle Saxon & Viking, Witham, 2010; Webster, L. & Backhouse, J., The Making of England. Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600-900, London, 1991, item 138 (Gandersheim), 185. 13.1 grams, 44 mm (50.4 grams total, 71 mm high including stand) (1 3/4 in. (2 3/4 in.)).Found Saxmundham, Suffolk, in the 1980s. From the collection of Dirk Kennis, Belgium.Details of the decoration recall later 8th century items, such as the lobed tendrils and triquetra motifs on the Franks Casket; the regular disposition of elements recalls a shrine mount from Peterborough (Hammond, 1.12-d) and disc-headed pins (Hammond, 1.10-g, h). Recorded, studied, and determined by the Secretary of State’s Expert Adviser as an object of cultural interest. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA) considered an application to export this object. The Committee concluded that the object satisfied the third Waverley criterion and is therefore currently not exportable.
Circa 11th-9th century B.C. With thick ribbed neck, crescent horns and prominent genitals; mounted on a custom-made stand. Cf. similar bull in the Museum of Fine Art of Budapest, inventory no.51.946. 141 grams total, 86 mm wide including stand (3 3/8 in.).From the collection of D. Smith, Sussex, UK, 1990s.Like dozens of similar statuettes depicting animals or human figures, this bronze bull was probably offered by a worshipper during a sacrifice. A large number of statuettes were found in a thick layer of ash from the altar of Zeus at Olympia. In 2021, a similar statuette, with protruding horns, was found in the sanctuary. Bulls and horses were the favourite cultic animals in the Cretan, Achaean and Archaic Greek civilisations. The model of the long and narrow body was borrowed from the Near East. [No Reserve]
Circa 11th-14th century A.D. With a piriform body and domed mouth; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. Cf. Arendt, W. I., Granaten des 13-14. Jahrhunderts, die an der Wolga gefunden sind, Zeitschrift fur Historische Waffen-und Kostumkunde, 11 (1926-8), p.42; cf. Arendt, W., Die Spharisch-konischen Gefasse aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; cf. Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16; for the way of employment see D'Amato, R., Byzantine Naval Forces 1261-1461, The Roman Empire's Last Marines, Oxford, 2016, plate B, p.41. 603 grams, 11.8 cm high (4 5/8 in.).Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. 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 (??????? k???????) 9th-11th century AD'.Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. Such were the ??????, vessels (sometimes also in bronze) used for Greek fire. They were called ?????? k?????? or ???????????? where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form. [No Reserve]
1st-4th century A.D. Comprising mixed artefacts including: bronze brooches, mounts, implements, a bell, a stylus, and others, most fragmentary; an iron razor and a group of glass fragments. 450 grams total, 1.5-12.4 cm (5/8 - 4 7/8 in.).Acquired in the 1980s-1990s. Property of a Nottinghamshire gentleman. [41, No Reserve]
9th-8th century B.C. Comprising two terminals in the form of human-headed horned and winged sphinxes; mounted on a custom-made display stand. Cf. Moorey, P.R.S., 'The Art of Ancient Iran', in Ancient Bronzes, Ceramics and Seals, Los Angeles, 1981, items 150-3; British Museum accession no.134746, in Curtis, J.E. & Tallis, N., The Horse from Arabia to Ascot, London, 2012, p.98, cat.25, for the type. 218 grams total, 15 cm wide including stand (6 in.).From an old London, UK, collection. Ex London, UK, gallery.The most admirable horse bits ever created by man are undoubtedly those from Luristan, a province in the north-west of Iran which extended along the valleys that make up the central part of the Zagros mountains. Worked in cast bronze with the lost wax process, they almost always had a rigid cannon in round or square bars which were flattened and rolled up around themselves at the ends, but their exceptional feature were the figural side bars. The local metalsmiths, in a period of time between 1200 and 700 B.C. managed to create an infinite number of typologies: horses, oxen, ibex, roosters and various mythological animals.
1st-4th century A.D. Comprising: a lead glans slingshot; a bronze 'seahorse' trumpet brooch; a bronze furniture finial; a glass bangle fragment with white trails; a bronze flat-section situla handle. 164 grams total, 2-11.5 cm (3/4 - 4 1/2 in.).Found near a Roman fort in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK. Acquired from the finder in 2006. Property of a Nottinghamshire gentleman. [5, No Reserve]
Middle Bronze Age, 1400-1150 B.C. Triangular flange on each side rising from the butt to the stop bar; below the septum, a hollow to each face; narrow body expanding to a wide triangular blade with curved edge and raised median rib. See Evans, J., The Ancient Bronze Implements, Weapons and Ornaments of Great Britain and Ireland, London, 1881, pp.76-84, and figs.56-68, for similar types. 443 grams, 17 cm (6 5/8 in.).Found Spridlington, Lincolnshire, UK.
9th-8th century B.C. The cheekpieces formed as winged deer with horns and small ears, a circular opening to the body for the bar to pass through, two loops and studs to the reverse; the bar with looped circular terminals. Cf. Haerink, E., Overlaet, B., 'Finds from Khatunban B – Badavar Valley (Luristan) in the Iran Bastan Museum' in Iranica Antiqua, January 2004, pp.105-168, pl.5, for a similar. 543 grams, 17.5 cm (6 7/8 in.).Ex old English collection. London art market, pre 2000. Property of a Lonodon, UK, gentleman.The most admirable horse bits ever created by man are undoubtedly those from Luristan, a province which extended along the valleys that make up the central part of the Zagros mountains. Worked in cast bronze with the lost wax process, they almost always had a rigid cannon in round or square bars which were flattened and rolled up around themselves at the ends, but their exceptional feature were the figural side bars. The local metalsmiths, in a period of time between 1200 and 700 B.C. managed to create an infinite number of typologies: horses, oxen, ibex, roosters and various mythological animals.
Circa 4th-3rd century B.C. Comprising an embossed fragment of a breast-plate from muscle-type armour (thorax statos) representing Herakles fighting against the Hydra of Lerna; three-quarters of the hero's body preserved showing him naked in a dynamic position, wearing a fluttering short cloak (chlamys), overlooking the body of the monster of which the long tail covered with scales and fins is visible; fragment of cloak preserved separately. See Marazov, I., Thracian Warrior, Sofia, 2005, p.55, for a cheek-piece with Herakles in identical position; see also parallels with the warriors of the Panagyuriste treasure, pp.115-116; and Herakles against the Amazons in the Rogozen treasure; for similar elements on a bronze anatomical cuirass from Siris (BM) see D'Amato, R., Negin, A., Roman Decorated Armour, from the Age of the Kings to the death of Justinian the Great, Barnsley, 2017, p.46, fig.43. 122 grams total, 3.4-17.5 cm (1 3/8 - 6 7/8 in.).Acquired on the French art market before 2000. From an EU collection before 2020.This kind of armour is very rare, especially for this period, when most of the attested armour is plain or only slightly decorated. The young Herakles appears in heroic nudity running to the right, but, as on the cheek-piece from Gurlo, his head was probably turned in the opposite direction. The plasticism of the scene finds a good match in the Thracian tradition of the representation of weapons and armour, and the embossed elements with the highly prized work of the Panagyurishte treasure. The warrior-theme and the representation of Herakles or other fighting scenes on the Thracian and Hellenistic armours was a reference to the spirit of the immortal fighter. [2]
10th-9th century B.C. Comprising mainly tanged arrowheads, the most of them having large elongated triangular blades and raised midrib, sharp central groove, cylindrical or squared stem for the shaft, barbed shoulders and convex sides; others with lanceolate head and rounded shoulders with long tang and foliate-section. See Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, figures 463, 467, and 471, for the types. 103 grams total, 29-68 mm (1 1/8 - 2 5/8 in.).Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.The most of these arrowheads, having a lozenge-section midrib with thin blades filed sharp at the edges, are typical of the early Iron Age in Luristan. These arrowheads seem to belong to the type V, subcategory types A, C and D according to the classification of Khorasani and Negahban. In the four categories of triangular bronze arrowheads from Luristan, Marlik, and Northern Iran individuated by Negahban, subtypes C and D of type V are larger arrow or javelin heads, C with barbed shoulders and D with round shoulders. Subtype A is substantially similar to C, but smaller. Similar arrowheads are also visible in the Western Iberian and Balkan cultures in the Early Iron Age. [20]
Circa 11th century B.C. With heavy penannular rib, tapering triangular blade and round shoulders, flanged hilt with straight grip, widening to a fan-shaped pommel; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. Cf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, s. cat 12, for type. 554 grams total, 35 cm (37.5 cm including stand) (13 3/4 in. (14 3/4 in.)).Ex P.A., Hertfordshire, UK, specialist collection of Greek art, 1980-1990s.These short daggers and dirks were mainly cast in one piece, and especially the penannular rib was cast on at the same time with handle and blade according to Medvedskaya. On the contrary, Moorey said that the penannular rib was later cast on the dirk, possibly to strengthen a weak point at the junction of hilt and blade.
1st-4th century A.D. Comprising: a bird-in-flight with incised annulets and X-motifs to the body, accompanied by a typed ticket 'Roman bronze brooch of bird in flight, beautifully incised decoration, iron pin intact, 2nd century AD, authenticated by British Museum, 30/5/2006'; a penannular brooch with clubbed terminals; a bow brooch with carinated bow. 31 grams total, 31-63 mm (1 1/4 - 2 1/2 in.).Acquired in the 1980s-1990s. Property of a Nottinghamshire gentleman. [3, No Reserve]
2nd-1st millennium B.C. Of fine quality, showing an open cast crescentic pommel with raised midrib and two parallel shallow lines across the top; pommel open on both sides to reveal the tip of the blade, tang rising from the grip; the solid cylindrical grip decorated with fourteen circumferential ribs, angular guard and triangular blade with strong midrib. Cf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, s. cat 37, for type. 1.05 kg, 58 cm (22 7/8 in.).Ex P.A., Hertfordshire, UK, specialist collection of Greek art, 1980-1990s.The dirk has its hilt cast onto the blade. Moorey published a very similar piece with fourteen encircling ribs on the grip and attributed similar pieces to the North-West, also based upon examples of similar dirks from the Iranian and Russian Talesh region. He dated these pieces to the late 2nd millennium B.C. Similar examples were excavated at Marlik. Stutzinger attributed these types with a wider dating (13th-9th century A.D.)
9th-11th century A.D. Piriform body with domed filler-hole, raised vertical flanges to the shoulder; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. Cf. Arendt, W. I., Granaten des 13-14. Jahrhunderts, die an der Wolga gefunden sind, Zeitschrift fur Historische Waffen-und Kostumkunde, 11 (1926-8), p.42; cf. Arendt, W., Die Spharisch-konischen Gefasse aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; cf. Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16. 535 grams, 11.9 cm (4 3/4 in.).Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. 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 (??????? k???????) 9th-11th century AD'.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. Such were the ??????, vessels (sometimes also of bronze) used for Greek fire. They were called ?????? k?????? or ???????????? where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.
11th-8th century B.C. The cheekpieces formed as stylised horses with small ears, elongated heads and long tails, a circular opening to the body for the bar to pass through, two loops to the body and two spurs to the reverse. Cf. Legrain, L., Luristan Bronzes in the University Museum, Philadelphia, 1934, pl.XVIII no.52; Musée Cernuschi, Bronzes de Luristan, enigmes de l'Iran Ancien, IIIe-Ier millenaire av. J.C., Paris, 2008, p.111, no.71, 112, nos.72-73, for similar types. 654 grams, 21 cm wide (8 1/4 in.).Ex Paris collection. French gallery, Paris, 1990-2000s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11975-210127In Luristan, horses were usually buried with a bronze horse-bit in their mouths, as shown by finds from Sarkishti, where the horses’ teeth were stained green.
Late 2nd millennium B.C. With solid cast hilt, straight horizontal guard with turquoise inlay; plain narrow grip with conical hollow cast mushroom pommel decorated with dots and lines; wide shallow midrib on the blade tapering to a sharp tip. Cf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, s.cat 36, for type. 505 grams, 52 cm (20 1/2 in.).Ex old English collection. London art market, pre 2000. Property of a London, UK, gentleman.Moorey and Khorasani dated swords with mushroom pommels to the end of the second millennium B.C. The weapon belongs to Category IX of the Khorasani classification, the ones with a mushroom or bell-shaped pommel. A similar example is in the National Museum of Iran, Tehran.
10th-12th century A.D. Featuring a scalloped handle with openwork scrolling tendrils, complete set of teeth below. See similar in Arbman, H., Birka I, Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940, pl.100, no.2, from grave 1162. 16.5 grams, 44 mm (1 3/4 in.).Acquired 1980-2000. Ex property of an American collector.Norsemen were particularly fastidious about their appearance. The hair and beard were important to the men, for making a statement and to intimidate their opponents. Early combs were made from antler or bone and carried in a small pouch; high status combs were later made from metal (mainly bronze) and have been found as grave goods. [No Reserve] For this specific lot, 5% import VAT is applicable on the hammer price
13th-6th century B.C. Comprising four large triangular-shaped arrowheads, each with a raised midrib. See for similar arrowheads Muscarella, O.W., Bronze and Iron Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,1988, pp.289ff. 129 grams total, 14-15.5 cm (5 1/2 - 6 1/8 in.).Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.Although different in shape, these four heads are apparently related types of a polythetic group. There are represented two basic deltoid forms: one has a sharp, flat blade, the ends of which extend to form wings or barbs, and a prominent midrib extending into a long tang that often has a stop; the blade shape varies from deltoid to more manifestly triangular. The other form has no barbs, but it has a prominent midrib extending to the tang, it is narrow and leaf shaped. [4]
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