Details
A ROMAN IRON SPATHA
CIRCA 100-300 A.D.
32 ½ in. (82.5 cm.) long
Provenance
Axel Guttmann (1944-2001), Berlin (Inv. no. W55).
Antiken der Sammlung Axel Guttmann, Auktion 44, Hermann Historica, Munich, 15 May 2003, lot 101.
Antiken der Sammlung Axel Guttmann, Auktion 56, Hermann Historica, Munich, 8 October 2008, lot 68.
Christian Levett, London, acquired from the above on behalf of the Mougins Museum of Classical Art.
Literature
M. Merrony, ed., Mougins Museum of Classical Art, Mougins, 2011, p. 182, fig. 61; p. 263, fig. 73.
Exhibited
Mougins Museum of Classical Art, 2011-2023 (Inv. no. MMoCA138).

Brought to you by

Hannah Fox Solomon
Hannah Fox Solomon Head of Department, Specialist

Lot Essay

According to D. Cahn (pp. 96-97 in Waffen und Zaumzeug) by the 3rd century, the spatha replaced the shorter gladius as the sword of choice for Roman legionnaires. For a similar example, see no. W48 in Cahn, op. cit.

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