LOT 0246

Early Iron Age 'Griffzungenschwert' Sword

10TH-9TH CENTURY B.C.

17 1/8 in. (245 grams, 43.5 cm).

Of Naue II Type, with broad flattened midrib to both faces of the iron blade, the blade gently broadening below the tip, serrated edges at the base, flanged rivetted guard and hilt for the insertion of the organic handle and rhomboid-section grip.

Acquired 1960s-1990s.
Late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister.

See D'Amato, R., Salimbeti, A., Early Iron Age Greek Warrior 1100-700 BC, Oxford, 2016, p.24, nos.G,L, for similar short swords of group A from the Aegean area; see also Kilian-Dirlmeier, I., Die Schwerter in Griechenland (außerhalb der Peloponnes), Bulgarien und Albanen, Stuttgart, 1993, no.291, from Archanes.

The Naue II, also known as the grip-tongue sword, was one of the longest lasting of all sword types. First appearing in the late Bronze Age it lasted well into the Iron Age, a span of 500-700 years, and it was made both in bronze and iron. As early as 1450 B.C., in northern Italy, smiths came up with an early type of a sword now known as the Naue II. It spread first into central Europe, Scandinavia and the British Isles. By 1200 B.C. it had spread to Greece, Crete, the Aegean Islands, the Levant, Palestine and Egypt. It was quite popular in Greece and the Aegean, but it is in Central Europe that the greatest number has been found. In all these areas it was the standard sword until the 7th century B.C. with iron replacing bronze, but still the same basic design.