BRONZE AGE CELTIC DAGGER WITH HANDLE - SUPERB PATINA

Ca. 1000-800 BC. Celtic. A stunning bronze leaf-shaped dagger with a rounded handle. The bronze has blued with age and has a superb patina. Bronze weaponry production flourished from the 2nd millennium BC to about 700 BC when it was gradually replaced by iron. Swords, axe heads, spears and arrows were exchanged via trade and war and were discovered in both civic and ritual context. Mounted on a custom-made stand. Excellent condition, superb patina. For more information on Celtic daggers, see Stead, I. M. (1997). Celtic Art. Harvard University Press, 62-64 and Harding, D.W. (2007). The Archaeology of Celtic Art. Routledge, London, 107, 141, 195.Size: L:310mm / W:65mm ; 180g. Provenance: Property of a European gentleman, formerly acquired on the UK Art Market in the 1990s.