An exceptionally fine fighting sword in heavy bronze. The 15 inch long triangular shaped blade has an elaborate quadruple rib along its length for strength. The weapon has a one-piece handle with crescent shaped hilt and a substantial pommel composed of two disks. The handle is embellished with an incised basket-weave design and additional incised designs adorn the pommel. This sword is well balanced and would have been effective for both hacking and piercing. The surface has a fine green patina, with areas of deep blue encrustation.
The blade is slightly bent and there are chips and gouges along the edges – consistent with use in battle. Length: 21 inches Width: 2.5 inches
For a related example see Muscarella, “Bronze and Iron” – Metropolitan Museum of Art, Plate 166.
Provenance: Ex estate collection of Julian Hovespian, Brooklyn, NY, collector and philanthropist who received the Memorial Medal from the Prime Minister of the Armenian Republic in 2008 for his charitable deeds and donations to the Armenian National Gallery.
Luristan bronzes refer to items dating from roughly 1500-500 BC that have been excavated since the late 1920’s in the Harsin, Khorramabad and Alishtar valleys of the Zagros Mountains of western Iran, especially at the site of Tepe Sialk. Scholars believe they were created by either the Cimmerians or by such related Indo-European peoples as the early Medes and Persians. Luristan weapons were highly sought after by warriors of many cultures because of their quality, balance and durability.
