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LOT 1508
Luristan Bronze Dagger
2ND-1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
12 in. (151 grams, 30.5 cm).
Blade with a shallow median rib, crescentic pennannular guard, handle with pommel in the shape of a nail head.
ProvenanceEx Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
LiteratureSee Godard, A., Les Bronzes du Luristan, Paris, 1931, pl.VII, no.14, for a similar dagger.
FootnotesThis is a type of blade rare among Luristan weapons. The simplest type that appeared to J. de Morgan and Godard in the first excavations of Luristan looked like this: a blade always featuring a median groove, a guard decorated with a crescent, and a round hilt with a nail-shaped head. The hilt was usually filled with organic material, such as wood, bone, or ivory.
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