Marlik Dirk with Handle. 14th-9th century B.C. A bronze dagger with double-edged blade and pronounced central rib, the hilt ending in a wide crescent-shaped pommel with four grooves on the handle, oval-shaped guard embracing the blade and the central rib. Cf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, items 39-43. 496 grams, 40.5 cm (16 in.) Earlier 20th century Cologne collection, Germany. London Mayfair gallery, UK. Dr D.G. collection, 1990s-2019. Accompanied by an old typed catalogue slip with provenance. Similar swords were excavated in the royal cemetery of Marlik, and are preserved in the National Museum of Iran, Tehran. They are usually characterised by the separate sets of encircling ribs on the grip. Moorey stated that these dirks were produced in Marlik and exported to Mesopotamia; he dated them back to the second millennium B.C.

Fine condition.