Luristan Handled Dirk Circa 12th century B.C. A substantial bronze dirk with slender leaf-shaped blade, narrow neck; slender grip with flared finial, lateral flanges to each face to secure an organic insert. Cf. Khorasani, M.M., Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, item 6. 165 grams, 32.5 cm (12 3/4 in.). Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. The dirk belongs to the type IIIa of the Medvedskaya classification. In these specimens handle and blade are cast in one piece. In Luristan, daggers produced up until the second half of the 2nd millennium B.C. were simple bronze or copper blades with the tangs attached by rivets to a handle made of organic material.