NEPC001 - RARE LARGE ANCIENT BRONZE DECORATED SPIKED WAR AXE FROM THE NEAR EASTERN LURISTAN CULTURE

Product Description

ID

Axe

FOUND

Ancient Near East

AGE

BRONZE AGE:
  4000 - 3500 years ago

SIZE

7.5" long

CONDITION

INTACT AND COMPLETE.
NO REPAIR OR RESTORATION.
STABILIZED AND SEALED.

NOTE

ONE OF THE RAREST 
AXES OF THIS PERIOD WE
HAVE EVER OFFERED.  FROM
AN OLD NEW YORK COLLECTION
OF MANY OF THE FINEST PIECES.

AN AXE OF THIS TYPE WOULD
HAVE BEEN RESERVED FOR ONLY
THE MOST NOBLE CLASS OR 
ROYAL WARRIORS.  DEADLY 
EFFECTIVE ON BOTH ENDS!

A TRUE MUSEUM PIECE!!!

INCLUDES DISPLAY BOX

Comes with a certificate of
authenticity / information sheet

This type of spiked axe of the Luristan Bronze Age Culture, is a very rare form and its elaborate decorations indicate it would have been owned by only the most noble class warriors, or those of royal descent.  This is a published form and even an example of this size and quality, is hard to find in the finest ancient militaria museums. This is a true museum piece that is impossible to improve on. 

This example possesses the FINEST preservation and patina we have seen with absolutely no corrosion or damage whatsoever.  The malachite mineral encrustations display a rich green hue over the dark brown bronze.  As decorative a design these axes were, they are also highly effective in combat, able to cut a deep, penetrating and deadly blow with severe force.  The FOUR spiked but being equally deadly when dealing back blows! 

This specimen has  been professionally cleaned and conserved in our lab, being treated with a special sealer developed and formulated by us specifically for ancient metal preservation.  The patina shows beautiful traits only found in authentic ancient weapons.  It is a patina like this that the finest ancient bronzes are prized for and it is a patina like this that brings a premium in price and value of the specimen.  No active bronze disease.   Bronze disease can be a problem in bronze artifacts and untreated, it can literally eat away an artifact over a short time of a matter of years and turn the piece to powder.  

WARNING:  There is an increasing number of fake Near Eastern (Luristan) bronze weapons on the market.  As fine quality intact, original specimens become more scarce and techniques have become more sophisticated to fake these weapons.  We have personally handled numerous extremely well-done fakes with extremely convincing patinas.  The degree to which the fakers have been able to replicate patina to disguise their work requires an expert examination by highly experienced individuals.  It is common to find very reasonably priced weapons that are made up of part original and part modern components or wholly modern pieces displaying elaborate artificial patinas.  All purchases should include from the dealer a written guarantee of authenticity with unconditional and lifetime return policies regarding such guarantee. 

The term LURISTAN references artifacts made by a society of semi-nomadic people that once lived in the mountainous region of Northwest Iran.  Little is known of this ancient culture but the most impressive traces are that of the bronze artifacts they left behind that can be found in parts of present-day Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan.  These include highly decorative equipment for their horses, ceremonial containers and numerous weapons ranging from simple utilitarian pieces on up to elaborate masterpieces of warfare. 

It is theorized that the Luristan bronzes were crafted by the earliest existence of the Median empire but this has never been proven as written records of the Medes have not survived.  The Medes were Indo-Iranian people originally from central Asia who settled in Northwest Iran in the 9th century BC and later defeated the Assyrian empire in 614 BC.  Their success is short-lived and their empire which once stretched from central Iran to the Persian Gulf and Anatolia was overrun in 550 BC by the Persians.