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INTACT NEAR EAST BRONZE AGE BATTLE AXE WITH SUPERB GREEN PATINA AND ORIGINAL FILLED SOCKET Northwest Iran BRONZE AGE: 4000 - 3500 years ago This is a complete cast bronze battle or war shaft axe from the Luristan bronze culture. It possesses both, exceptional and solid preservation as well as a prized NATURAL GREEN patina with original earthen deposits intact. 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. We recently acquired a very old private collection of a former resident of Iran of Luristan bronzes. These pieces were collected long ago and comprised many extremely rare and fine quality examples that have never been seen outside of large national museums. This specimen was one of only two axes that still had an original filled shaft hole. Upon cleaning the other specimen, a portion of wood was found in the sediment that was part of the original shaft handle dating back 4000 years! We decided to not clean this specimen as it is highly likely that there may be a portion of the 4000 year wooden original shaft still encased in the sediment. To have the original sediment as this specimen does can offer valuable evidence to specifically date this artifact and its condition definitely carries a premium for the serious collector. Many weapons of this type and period have severe damage from digging or corrosion but this exceptional specimen is in far better preservation than usually encountered. There is only one nick to a dorsal edge but this actually provides irrefutable visual evidence of the age of this specimen as you can see crystallized copper surfaces in the opening. This would not be present in a forgery so the presence of this nick is actually a plus! Overall, a complete and extremely well-preserved specimen that is INTACT WITH NO RESTORATION and NO REPAIR. The condition of the bronze is extremely solid. The specimen has not been painted or varnished and has no bronze disease. WARNING: There is an increasingly alarming number of fake, artificially put together and restored Near Eastern bronze weapons on the market. As fine quality intact, original specimens become more scarce and techniques have become more sophisticated, we have personally handled some extremely well-done fakes, as well as composite weapons made from authentic but partial weapons. 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 swords that are made up of an original broken blade welded to completely unrelated handle parts of either another weapon or modern made pieces. Regarding Luristan bronze weapons, because of the numerous original variations in style of intact authentic specimens, it is hard to judge a "Frankenstein" creation on style alone. 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. RARE CHOICE PRESERVATION WITH SOUND AND SOLID BRONZE SPORTING A PRIZED NATURAL GREEN PATINA SOCKET IS STILL FILLED WITH ORIGINAL SEDIMENT AND POSSIBLY PART OF ORIGINAL WOODEN SHAFT NO REPAIR AND NO RESTORATION! 4.15" in length SOLD R064 Actual Item - One Only |
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