A large Near Eastern bronze short sword, c. 1200 - 800 BC, cast as one piece, the flanged hilt with wedge-shaped pommel, lappets now lost, the flanges also encompassing a crescent extending onto the blade, likely originally holding a wood or bone inlay. The blade is large and substantial with square shoulders and narrow midrib bordered on either side by a groove; hatching adorns the top of the midrib within the crescent. A beautiful example and large then the usual dirk or daggers. L: 18 7/8 in (47.5 cm). Well-preserved and nicely patinated. Ref. Andre Goddard, Bronzes du Luristan, Ars Asiatica XVII, (Paris, 1931), PL. VII, no. 15; Morrey, Catalogue of Persian Bronzes in the Ashmolean Museum, p. 72, nos. 48 for the type; New Orleans private collection acquired 1940's - 1980's.

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