Lot 140

Two Luristan Bronze Blades - Petaloid Daggers with Tangs

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Lot 140
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Two Luristan Bronze Blades - Petaloid Daggers with Tangs
Two Luristan Bronze Blades - Petaloid Daggers with Tangs
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Two Luristan Bronze Blades - Petaloid Daggers with Tangs

Estimate: $800 - $1,200

Starting Bid: $400

(0 Bids)
by Artemis Fine Arts
August 6, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Near East, Persia, Luristan culture, ca. 1200–700 BCE. A pair of cast bronze blades from the mountainous valleys of western Persia each drawn to a slender leaf-shaped, or petaloid, body tapering to a fine point. The larger of the two retains an earthen crust of reddish sediment across its length, its central spine still discernible beneath the accretion. The smaller blade wears a mottled green patina and preserves a flat tang pierced with rivet perforations near the base, where the handle of wood, bone, or bronze was once secured. Weapons and tools of this type were forged in prodigious quantity by the Luristan bronzeworkers, a semi-nomadic pastoral people renowned across the ancient Near East for their metallurgy. Whether wielded in the hunt, in warfare, or deposited as votive offerings, such blades speak to a martial culture whose artistry in bronze remains unrivaled among the highland peoples of the Iron Age. Size of larger (brown patina): 11.1" L x 1.7" W (28.2 cm L x 4.3 cm W).

The Luristan bronzes derive their name from the Lorestan province of the Zagros Mountains in western Persia, where thousands were recovered from graves and hoards beginning in the late 1920s. Produced largely between the twelfth and seventh centuries BCE, they encompass horse trappings, standards, pins, vessels, and an abundance of weaponry. The pastoral and horse-breeding peoples who made them left scant written record, so the objects themselves, cast by the lost-wax method and often finished by cold-hammering, remain the primary testimony of their world.

Provenance: private Englewood, Colorado, USA collection; ex-private collection acquired in 1950s

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Item # 203815

  • Condition: Both have expected age wear with chipping and small losses to edges and tang. Larger has been repaired at tip with break line visible. Rich patinas and earthen encrustations throughout.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000