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NEAR
EAST
BRONZE AGE BATTLE AXE OF ELEGANT DESIGN AND SUPERB GREEN PATINA
Iran
BRONZE
AGE: 4000 - 3500 years ago
This is an elegant
design war shaft axe from the Luristan bronze culture of ancient Iran.
The blade of the axe is of a beautiful elongated profile. The
outer end is not damaged but was made that way and was due to a defect
in the original casting. This superb specimen has no damage and
features an incredible patina or deep color, layers and with mineral
encrustation. A wonderful, intact
battle axe from the Near East Bronze Age!
This specimen has
been professionally cleaned and conserved
in our lab, being treated with a special wax developed and formulated specifically for ancient bronze preservation.
The patina shows beautiful traits only found in authentic ancient
weapons. 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. A fine ancient weapon from this famous Bronze Age culture.
INTACT WITH NO RESTORATION and NO REPAIR
WARNING:
There is an increasing number of fake Near Eastern (Luristan)
bronze weapons on the market. As fine quality intact, original
specimens become more scarce and techniques have become more
sophisticated to fake these weapons. We have personally handled
numerous extremely well-done fakes
with extremely convincing patinas. The degree to which the
fakers have been able to replicate patina to disguise their work
requires an expert examination by highly experienced individuals.
It is common to find very reasonably priced weapons that are made up of
part original and part modern components or wholly modern pieces
displaying elaborate artificial patinas. All purchases should
include from the dealer a written guarantee of authenticity with
unconditional and lifetime return policies regarding such guarantee.
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 that can be found in parts of present-day Turkey, Iran and
Afghanistan. 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.
BEAUTIFUL DESIGN WITH ELEGANT HEAD PROFILE - REMARKABLE PATINA AND
FINEST PRESERVATION - INTACT AND COMPLETE
5.8" in length
SOLD LR006
Actual Item - One Only
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