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Details
LOT 1091
Western Asiatic Bronze Dagger Blade
EARLY 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
13 in. (61 grams, 33 cm).
With a narrow tapering blade, slightly enlarged in the guard area and narrowing again towards the 'ear' pommel.
Provenance
Acquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
Literature
See Christie's, Axel Guttmann collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, Part 2, London, South Kensington, Wednesday 28 April 2004, for a similar dagger (lot 21, p.22).
Footnotes
The techniques used by Luristan craftsmen to create bronze weapons were highly sophisticated. They used a wide variety of surface finishes: repoussé work, chasing and engraving. The fact that the mountains of Luristan were particularly rich in copper and tin, both required for making bronze, was a significant advantage to the metalworking industry. The weapons produced developed into a plethora of different forms in the 2nd millennium B.C. to at least 800 B.C. These objects include axes and adzes, pick axes, daggers and dirks, spears, swords, helmets and shields. Weapons were usually cast, but armour parts were also made by the hammering process.
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