148, Lot: 491. Estimate $100. Sold for $68. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ISLAMIC DYNASTIES, Artuqids of Mardin. Husam al-Din Yuluq Arslan. AH 580-597/AD 1184-1201. Æ Dirham (33mm, 13.82 g, 11h). Dated AH 596 (AD 1199/1200). Turkish soldier seated crosslegged, holding raised sword and severed helmeted head by crest; “Nur al-Din Atabeg” in Arabic in two lines to left; ornamental script in exergue / Name of Abbasid Caliph al-Nasir in three lines across fields; names and titles of Ayyubid overlords al-Afzal Ali bin Yusuf and al-Zahir Ghazi bin Yusuf in inner margin; name and title of Husam and AH date in outer margin. S&S Type 36.1. VF, green patina with orangish overtones, areas of flat strike.

From the Henry Chitwood Collection. Ex C.M. Webdale Collection (Glendining, 9 October 1989), lot 503 (part of).

The “head-cutter” type is is found elsewhere in Arabic art as a representation of Mars.