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LARGE COMPLETE LURISTAN BRONZE CAST DAGGER / SHORT SWORD WITH HANDLE AND CHOICE PATINA Northwest Iran BRONZE AGE: 3500 - 3000 years ago In all aspects, this is one of the finest examples of a cast bronze Luristan dagger / short swords. Compared to many we have seen on the market with damage, repair and/or restoration, this is a far nicer example than usually seen. It possesses both, exceptional complete, intact structural features as well as a most desirable rich green patina over a dark black surface. It is a patina like this that the finest ancient bronzes are prized for and it is a patina like this that brings a premium in price and value of the specimen. Many weapons of this type and period have damage to the blade or missing portions of the bezel border of the handle but this exceptional specimen is in far better preservation than usually encountered. In the period when this was used, the handle would have had a bone or wooden insert but these never survive the thousands of years of time. This is a solid and heavy specimen with no faults and remarkable yet simple beauty. Blade has a unique taper towards the tip, ideal for lunging attacks. A finely preserved specimen that is INTACT WITH NO RESTORATION, NO REPAIR and NO MODERN DAMAGE. The term LURISTAN references artifacts made by a society of semi-nomadic people that once lived in the mountainous region of Northwest Iran. Little is known of this ancient culture but the most impressive traces are that of the bronze artifacts they left behind. These include highly decorative equipment for their horses, ceremonial containers and numerous weapons ranging from simple utilitarian pieces on up to elaborate masterpieces of warfare. It is theorized that the Luristan bronzes were crafted by the earliest existence of the Median empire but this has never been proven as written records of the Medes have not survived. The Medes were Indo-Iranian people originally from central Asia who settled in Northwest Iran in the 9th century BC and later defeated the Assyrian empire in 614 BC. Their success is short-lived and their empire which once stretched from central Iran to the Persian Gulf and Anatolia was overrun in 550 BC by the Persians. VERY LARGE WITH UNIQUE LONG TAPER ON BLADE - INTACT, COMPLETE NEEDLE SHARP TIP - PATINA!!! 13.85" in length SOLD CBI-051 Actual Item - One Only |
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