An Ancient Bronze Tanged Spearhead or Dagger Blade with Flared Triangular Wings, Near Eastern
An exceptional ancient cast bronze tanged edged weapon, dynamic in its geometric form and dating roughly to the late 2nd to early 1st Millennium BCE. Culturally, this rare artifact shares striking typological characteristics with both the Near Eastern (Luristan) bronze-working tradition and the tanged spearhead/dagger (kui) lineages of the Late Shang to Western Zhou dynasties in East Asia. The tapered, leaf-shaped blade features a prominent raised central spinal ridge running along both faces for optimal structural reinforcement. The base of the blade dramatically flares out into a pair of highly stylized, symmetrical triangular wings (barbed shoulders) before sharply inner-tapering into an elongated, rectangular flat hilt-tang. Length: 9.25 in. Provenance: Collection from Professor of University of Chicago in IL USA .
Condition
Excellent archaeological condition. The bronze artifact is structurally sound, stable, and completely intact. Crucially for collectors, the terminal point remains remarkably perfect and sharp, showing no ancient snap-fractures or modern blunt-force trauma. The distinctive flared triangular wings at the base are fully symmetrical and unbroken, and the rectangular tang with its single rivet hole remains completely secure and unbent. The cutting edges display natural, fully patinated microscopic erosions and minor stone-bites from centuries of burial, confirming the blade has never been modernly ground or re-filed. The surface is clad in a textbook, stable multi-layered mineralized patina featuring rich pockets of crystalline malachite green layered over a dark cuprite base. No modern modifications, welds, or chemical cleanings.
An exceptional ancient cast bronze tanged edged weapon, dynamic in its geometric form and dating roughly to the late 2nd to early 1st Millennium BCE. Culturally, this rare artifact shares striking typological characteristics with both the Near Eastern (Luristan) bronze-working tradition and the tanged spearhead/dagger (kui) lineages of the Late Shang to Western Zhou dynasties in East Asia. The tapered, leaf-shaped blade features a prominent raised central spinal ridge running along both faces for optimal structural reinforcement. The base of the blade dramatically flares out into a pair of highly stylized, symmetrical triangular wings (barbed shoulders) before sharply inner-tapering into an elongated, rectangular flat hilt-tang. Length: 9.25 in. Provenance: Collection from Professor of University of Chicago in IL USA .
Condition
Excellent archaeological condition. The bronze artifact is structurally sound, stable, and completely intact. Crucially for collectors, the terminal point remains remarkably perfect and sharp, showing no ancient snap-fractures or modern blunt-force trauma. The distinctive flared triangular wings at the base are fully symmetrical and unbroken, and the rectangular tang with its single rivet hole remains completely secure and unbent. The cutting edges display natural, fully patinated microscopic erosions and minor stone-bites from centuries of burial, confirming the blade has never been modernly ground or re-filed. The surface is clad in a textbook, stable multi-layered mineralized patina featuring rich pockets of crystalline malachite green layered over a dark cuprite base. No modern modifications, welds, or chemical cleanings.
