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Details

LOT 0239

Marlik Bronze Short Sword with Crescentic Pommel

14TH-10TH CENTURY B.C.

17 1/4 in. (430 grams, 44 cm).

Formed with a slender triangular blade, raised midrib with flat upper face, penannular guard and scooped shoulders, columnar grip with two gusseted hoops, the upper half of the grip is decorated with vertical lines, the lower part with horizontal grooves, crescent pommel; short sword or dagger.

Provenance

Ex Alexander Cotton collection, Hampshire, UK 1980s.

Literature

Cf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, items 41-43.

Footnotes

This short sword or dagger belongs to the category of blades with pennanular guard, with hilt and guard cast in one piece with the grip. This solid weapon has separate sets of encircling ribs on the grip. Negahban excavated similar weapons from the Marlik cemeteries, although sometimes the type combines grip and penannular guard with flanged hilts open to accept inlays.

CONDITION

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AUCTIONS:

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LOT 0239

Marlik Bronze Short Sword with Crescentic Pommel

Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,300

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