5th-6th century AD. An iron two-edged cavalry spatha sword with a parallel-sided blade with broad pointed tip, battle nicks to both cutting edges; trapezoidal bronze lower guard with gilt chip-carved plate, decorated with a set of cloisonné garnets divided horizontally, long tang; a gold repoussé band from the scabbard with incised geometric pattern, set in a modern black leather scabbard. See Behmer, E., Das zweischneidige Schwert der germanischen Völkerwanderungszeit, Stockholm, 1939; Périn, P., Kazanski, M., ‘La tombe de Childéric, le Danube et la Méditerranée’ in Villes et campagnes en Neustrie, (Europe médiévale, 8) Montagnac, 2007, pp.29-38; Lebedinsky, I., Armes et guerriers barbares au temps des grandes invasions, Paris, 2001; Spier, J., Treasures of the Ferrell collection, Wiesbaden, 2010.1.1 kg total, 104cm (41"). Formerly with David Aaron gallery; ex private German collection, Mainz, German, since 2004; previously in the private Eastern European collection since the mid-1960s, kept in Germany since 1991; accompanied by an archaeological report by military specialist 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. 10532-171768. The sword belongs to the type III of Behmer typology (see especially pl.VI, 3a-4b), although it is highly probable that the pommel, the scabbard decoration and the chape were realised in so-called type IV, i.e. the sword coming from the Pontic-Sarmatian influence. Among the long Pontico-Caucasian weapons, the sword of Mokraja-Balka (Russia, north of Caucasus, around Kislodovsk) shows a near identical trapezoidal guard with a garnet in cloisonné. These types of swords were in use among the Nomads of the Caucasus, and unfortunately only few are the remains of the scabbards.