Luristan Axehead with Hunting Scene. 9th-7th century BC. A bronze axehead with slender crescent-shaped blade, the neck formed as a janiform feline head, a fan of feathers emerging from its open mouth; incised scalloped edge to the back edge of the blade; cylindrical shaft surmounted by a hunting scene comprising a lioness attacking a pig from behind, the lioness holding the pig down with its front paws, open jaws with exposed canines and erect tail; mounted on a custom-made stand.Cf. Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 2, London, 2004, no.34, for a near identical specimen; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession no.1988.102.3, for a Luristan axe of the same typology; the Museum of Fine Arts Boston for another axe of the same typology, accession no.30.544-30.637; Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006; Khorasani, M.,M., ‘Bronze and iron weapons from Luristan’ in Antiguo Oriente: Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente 7, 2009, for discussion.514 grams total, 18.5cm including stand (7 1/4"). Property of a gentleman from Jerusalem; previously with Hadji Baba Ancient Art, London, UK, in 2000; accompanied by a copy of Israeli export permit number 43725; accompanied by an archaeological expertise by Dr Raffaele D’Amato; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate number no.10590-174112.The Luristan bronze axes can be divided in the following categories: a) bronze shaft hole axes with a long shaft, sometimes decorated with ribbed bands; b) spike-butted axes with ablade left plain or ornamented with figures; c) bronze axes with leaf-shaped protuberances on the butt; d) bronze axes with figures on the blades; e) crescent-shaped axes. This last category has been analysed by Khorasani, who says ‘It is interesting that a lion’s head motif appears as a decorative feature on many axe-heads. The lion’s open jaw forms the base of the axe head, and the blade is attached to this; the lion is a symbol intended to give the weapon the strength of the most powerful beasts of the animal kingdom.' An axe in the National Museum of Teheran has, as our specimen, a base composed of the head of a lion with gaping jaws. The presence of the lion as the preferred animal for axe decoration is also attested in category (c), as visible in a specimen from Saqqiz, decorated by a statuette of a lion standing upon the straight edge of the axe’s blade (Khorasani, 2006, p.263, fig.31"). For this specific lot, 5% import VAT is applicable on the hammer price