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1F. Dacian Sword (Sica), 1st Century BC - 1st Century AD, museum piece

The photos of the lot are informative and indicative, and cannot provide a highly detailed view of the object from all angles. We recommend a careful physical inspection of the lot before bidding.

1F. Dacian Sword (Sica), 1st Century BC - 1st Century AD, museum piece

iron 98.17%, nickel 0.94%, copper 0.21%, l=42 cm

PROVENANCE

Provenance: private collection from Munich, acquired from the southern German art trade in the 1990s. Acquired from an auction house in Germany on July 8, 2024. Export certificate issued on January 16, 2025 by the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen.

The Sica was a short sword or long dagger used by the Thracians, Dacians and Illyrians in Antiquity, but also in Ancient Rome. In the oldest preserved representations, the Sica appears as a curved sword. Various specimens of "sica" have been discovered in several countries, such as Albania, Romania, Bosnia, Bulgaria and Serbia. The image of the Sica sword can also be seen on Trajan's Column, including on the metope illustrating Decebalus' suicide. The Sica had a curved shape and was designed to hit the enemy around the edge of the shield, causing cuts or stabbing him from behind. In the Roman Empire, in gladiator fights, the Thraex usually faced the Murmillo, who was armed with a Gladius and a large shield, and equipping the former with a Sica was considered essential to balance the odds and to increase the spectacularity of the confrontation. The Sica represents a significant historical artifact, which, due to its role in the Thracian world, contributes to understanding the social and military mechanisms of this society. Also, through its distinctive spiritual dimension, it helps to decipher a new facet of the religious mosaic of this population. Of all the curved weapons used by the Thracians during that period, the Sica is the only one that links the Thracians from the south to those from the north of the Danube, being equally distributed on both banks of the river.

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SESSION
Tue, 25 March 2025 18:00

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