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SET OF FOUR ANCIENT BRONZE LURISTAN CAVALRY AND INFANTRY SPEAR HEADS OF VARIOUS DESIGN Afghanistan / Iran BRONZE AGE: 4000 - 3000 years ago This is an exceptional set of FOUR Near Eastern Luristan ancient bronze socketed spear heads of various designs and use. The far left spear is a rare small headed cavalry javelin. The next spear on the left is a heavier cast design meant for ground infantry and the two on the right are lighter javelin spear head designs meant for throwing from either foot soldiers or mounted cavalry. The two spear heads on the right also feature a different shaft mounting method with a still intact band at the base. One has damage to the socket and the other shows a slight bend where it appears to have been used in battle and bent from hitting something hard. All of these spectacular specimens feature a very dark black patina with green encrustation, likely due to the fact that arsenical bronze was used in their ancient forging process. This is the kind of patina prized by advanced collectors of ancient bronzes also serving as evidence of its authenticity and age. A weapon such as this would have been carried by foot or mounted soldiers and either thrown or used in stabbing attacks on enemy ranks. These ancient bronze weapons have been professionally cleaned and conserved in our lab to stabilize the original 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 set of FOUR varied ancient shaft-mounted weapons from this famous Bronze Age culture. Cast spearhead second from left has minor blade repair. INTACT WITH NO RESTORATION. 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. FOUR FINE ANCIENT BRONZE SPEAR HEADS OF VARIOUS DESIGNS - CAVALRY AND GROUND INFANTRY TYPES 8.25" - 7.6" in lengths SOLD LUR039 Actual Item - One Only |
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1150 |