Fifteen of my fave not-coins, below. (I'll attempt ten in the first post, five more after) My collecting focus took a wrong turn at Albuquerque this year, and ended up in Western Asia three thousand years ago. (Yeah, yeah, I know: a left turn at Albuquerque wouldn’t account for the temporal distortion within the space/time continuum) Most are my pics – but, as I’ve not had a chance to photo many of my more recent acquisitions, some are sellers’ pics. Been a very active buying year – so it was tough narrowing this down. No particular order here - I like 'em all equally. 1. AE dagger Northwestern Iran (probably Luristan) 1200-800 BC 32cm (12.6”) Cf. Khorasani (Bronze and Iron Weapons from Luristan), Fig. 2 (page 212) Cf. Moorey (Catalogue of the Ancient Persian Bronzes in the Ashmolean Museum), Pl. 6, #50; (also illustrated on page 70) Cf. Overleat (The Early Iron Age in the Pusht-I Kuh, Luristan), Fig. 184, #KT.A6-19 (page 216) From an old British collection, acquired in the 1970s Description: Flanged hilt with no wood or ivory remaining, single rivet hole in wedge-shaped pommel, low broad midrib, blade and hilt cast in one piece 2. AE sword (handle lost to time) Northwestern Iran (possibly Luristan) 1200-800 BC 54.5cm (21 ½”) Cf. Mahboubian (Art of Ancient Iran), 397i (similar rectangular open guard) Cf. Moorey (Catalogue of Ancient Persian Bronzes in the Ashmolean Museum) Plate 7, # 61 (for similar guard); Fig. 8, #63 (for similar blade) 3. AE dagger Canaanite Early to mid 2nd millennium BC 17cm (6.7”) Ex- Shlomo Zeitsov Collection Description: Sold by the collector’s nephew, who reports that it was found in Israel. It is tang-less and has three rivet holes, of which only one remains fully encircled by bronze. 4. AE dagger Western Asia (possibly Luristan) 1200-800 BC 33cm (13”) Cf. Mahboubian (Art of Ancient Iran: Copper and Bronze), 379 Cf. Malloy (Weapons: Ancient and Medieval Art and Antiquities), Fig. 53 Cf. Overleat (The Early Iron Age in the Pusht-I Kuh, Luristan), Pl. 89 (Kutal-i Gulgul, tomb A9), Fig. A9-60 Description: Flanged hilt with no wood or ivory remaining, blade and hilt cast in one piece 5. AE dagger Western Asia (possibly Marlik or other site in/around Gilan, Iran) 2nd millennium BC 29.5cm (11.6”) Cf. Negahban, (Weapons from Marlik) Pl. X, Fig. 128 Ex- Johan Dæhnfeldt collection Description: Long triangular ribbed blade, squared shoulders, four rivet holes (two rivets still in place), broken tang 6. AE dagger Northwestern Iran (possibly Marlik) 1200-800 BC 31.5cm (12.4”) Cf. Negahban (Weapons from Marlik), Pl. V, Fig. 55 Ex. Danish Private Collection Description: Triangular blade, very broad at base, blade with diamond-shaped cross-section, flanged hilt with no wood or ivory remaining 7. AE dagger/short sword Northwestern Iran 1200-800 BC 37.7cm (14.8”) Cf. Muscarella (Bronze and Iron, Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art), Fig. 164 (page 99) Cf. Negahban (Weapons from Marlik), Fig. 41 (page 59) Cf. Petrie (Tools and Weapons), Plate XXXVI, Fig. 170 From a private Danish collection of ancient weapons Description: Long tapering form, winged guard extending from the ricasso, prominent midrib, chips along one edge 8. AE dagger/short sword Western Asia (possibly northwestern Iran) 1200-800 BC 41.5cm (16.3”) Cf. Malloy (Weapons: Ancient and Medieval Art and Antiquities), Fig. 62 From a private Danish collection of ancient weapons Description: Rounded shoulders and broad, flat central midrib curving outward at shoulders, tang broken, some roughness, chips, and encrustations 9. AE hilt (of a dagger or sword) Northwestern Iran 1200-800 BC 11.1cm (4.4”) For similar pommels and grips: Cf. Moorey (Catalogue of the Ancient Persian Bronzes in the Ashmolean Museum), plate 7, #58, 60 Cf. Mahboubian (Art of Ancient Iran), 392 and 397a Description: Double disk pommel, cylindrical grip, iron core, bronze exterior, incised with decorative patterns 10. AE spearhead or dagger blade Western Asia (possibly Luristan or Marlik) 1200-800 BC 32.9cm (13”) Cf. Muscarella (Bronze and Iron, Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art), Fig. 392 (dagger) Cf. Negahban (Weapons from Marlik), Pl. IX, Fig. 119 Description: Rounded shoulders, pronounced midrib, slightly concave edges, long tang
Continuing... 11. AE sword Northwestern Iran, Talish area 1200-800 BC 45.5cm (18”) Cf. Muscarella (Bronze and Iron, Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art), Fig. 165 (page 99) Cf. Watson (Luristan Bronzes in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery), Fig. 16, #54 (page 24) From an old Cambridge collection Description: Tapering ribbed blade, round shoulders, rat-tail tang, tip missing and end bent (possibly a deliberate act in antiquity) 12. AE spearhead Western Asia (probably northwestern Iran) 1200-800 BC 38.5cm (15.4”) Cf. Negahban (Weapons from Marlik), Pl. VI, Fig. 80 Ex- Johan Dæhnfeldt Collection Description: Tapered long blade with prominent midrib, sharper tapering near point, round shoulders 13. AE spearhead Western Asia (probably northwestern Iran, possibly Marlik) 1200-800 BC 38.5cm (15.4”) Cf. Negahban (Weapons from Marlik), Pl. VI, Figs. 79, 80 Ex- Johan Dæhnfeldt Collection Description: Ovate blade with curved shoulders, sharper tapering near point, flat midrib, and squared-sectioned tang 14. AE spearhead or dagger blade Western Asia (possibly northwestern Iran, possibly Marlik) 1200-800 BC 30cm (11.8”) Cf. Negahban (Weapons from Marlik), Pl. IX, Fig. 116 Cf. Piller (Untersuchungen zur relative Chronologie der Nekropole von Marlik), Table XII, Type IB (page 289) Description: Rounded shoulders, pronounced midrib, rivet hole in tang 15. AE spearhead Northwestern Iran Mid-2nd millennium BC 24.5cm (9.6”) Cf. Negahban (Weapons from Marlik), Pl. XI, Fig. 139 Cf. Moorey (Catalogue of the Ancient Persian Bronzes in the Ashmolean Museum), Pl. 5, Fig. 41 (type also illustrated on page 67) Ex. Johan Dæhnfeldt Estate Collection Description: Triangular socketed blade, pronounced midrib, high shoulders
Interesting artifacts - very cool and I imagine a challenge to fit in 2x2 flips or Abafil trays. Best wishes for whichever direction you turn in 2020.
I especially like the intact hilt of the dagger in the #1 spot. They are all absolutely amazing pieces of history. Thank you for sharing.
I enjoy collections of cool not-coin Ancients. Well done, @Parthicus ! Lotta cool sharp instruments. I have not graduated to Daggers and Swords yet. I am still at the Razor stage ... Ancient Celtic Shaving Razor 8th-6th c BCE Rare Bronze Age Hallstatt Type 48mm x 40mm
Thanks, Deacon Ray! LOL I guess we Parthian collectors are pretty much interchangeable. Seriously, neat artifact, Alegandron. The redirected focus this year definitely slowed down the coin collecting for me. But, as this is CT, I feel obligated to add a recent addition of the numismatic variety. Kamnaskires V AR tetradrachm, 54 - 32 BC Van't Haaff 9.1.1-7 Thinking about breaking it free...
If you find yourself with a duplicate of one of these spears or daggers (from an upgrade, etc.), let me know—I’d like to get one of these but do not have the time to research the purchase.
Wonderful collection Bob!....I love the patinas these artifacts obtain.. That number 15 is something special!...But also really like the 1, 4 and 6 aswell! I'm sure I can see some dry blood on a couple though Congrats on a beautiful collection....Nice Tet too!
Great collecting year @Bob L. ! You have several that look similar from your pics. Can you take one pic that shows them all? I like that you have one handle. Do you have iron as well as bronze? My bronze pieces are much smaller and broken. two bronze axes (on left ex McCabe collection) broken bronze axe and knife with 3 other cast bronze pieces.
Love them! WOW!!!! You really have a fine "edged weapons" collection! I have some too/ nothing comes close to yours John
Thanks for the comments, all. Most appreciated. Rrdenarius, very interesting group of AE artifacts - thanks for sharing! Unfortunately I won't have time to gather up everything for a group shot, much as I like the idea. The first round influx of the annual sibs-in-law holiday-time houseguests arrives tomorrow (I'll have two airport runs after work) - and so, other than an occasional peek at the PC monitor during breaks from cleaning the house today - I just won't have the time to gather up the weapons. You're right that some can look similar - differences can in some cases be subtle: profile, tang length, tang versus socket, cross-section shape, midrib or not, etc. Having access to some good reference materials, to navigate this complicated area, is important. But, even armed with those references, there are challenges. If interested, see the second entry (the parts dealing with typological similarities and ambiguous usages) I posted here: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=119753.0 My collecting criteria include: no (or very, very little evident) bronze disease (a big problem with these types of things - and, yes, rrdenarius, I only collect bronze artifacts), affordability, items must originate in Western Asia - and preferably northwestern Iran and its immediate environs (the collection started to provide context for my Parthian and Elymaean coins by looking at the regional antecedents of Parthia), and good provenance. I have been lucky enough to snag specimens from some important weapons collections including those of Johan Dæhnfeldt, Walter Steinberg, Axel Guttman, Shlomo Zeitsov, and Marcel Gibrat. I hope to eventually pick up an ex-John Piscopo - his was a very important collection. I have been on a bit of a buying spree, and so I have a number of items waiting to be photographed and properly cataloged, then eventually uploaded to my online gallery. (Last summer I posted the first round of pickups at Forum) Although the group above represents my "tops" from 2019 - I should mention that 2019 was also my first year collecting these things. The upload of round two is still months away. I just don't have the time to devote to the photography during the academic year. (I teach in a very busy department) By next May, for sure, I'll get another round loaded up.
Wow, that's an awesome collection of cool weapons for just starting this year! That pommel is pretty awesome, seems like you don't see those very often. Of course, I don't know anything about these artifacts, just thinking of pictures I have seen. Maybe most of the hilts were wood and have rotted away?
Bob L., Thanks for displaying examples from your impressive collection of ancient weapons ! I'm especially impressed with #1,2,4,6, & 15. Four years ago I bought at auction a bronze dagger from the estate of John Piscopo, identified as "Luristan", Northwestern Iran, circa 1200 - 900 BC, 13.15 in. long, see photos below. Does that attribution seem accurate to you? Are you familiar with the collection Piscopo assembled or have anything that was in his collection?
Super collection Bob! From an archaeological standpoint, how are these normally found? None show obvious signs of battle, so grave goods or weapons caches?