Code: 1642
Description: A bronze short sword with tapering blade and pronounced central rib extending from the tang to the tip. The shoulders swept back where the chisel-like tang joins the blade. Sword has a dark brown patina and green encrustation over most of the blade, the handle lost. The blade repeatedly reshapened resulting in edge loss on both sides of the blade (compare 1638), suggesting this is a well-used weapon of war.
Size: 395 mm/15.5 ins. in length
Culture: Luristan
Date: c. 800-1200 B.C.
Provenance: Ex Yorkshire private collection.
Notes: Excavated examples suggest these blades come from the south Capsian area in Iran.
References: Compare No. 165 (p. 99) in Muscarella, O.W. (1988), Bronze and Iron: Ancient Near Eastern artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, for the type.
