RARE ANCIENT BRONZE SWORD WITH BONE HANDLE

1200-800 BC, Greek Archaic Period, Bronze Age. A rare bronze sword with a pointed, bevelled blade, raised midrib and a tubular handle terminating in a large conical bone pommel. Bronze weaponry production flourished in western Asia, the Aegean, and Mainland Greece from the 2nd millennium BC to about 700 BC, when it was gradually replaced by iron. Swords, spears, and arrows were important symbols of war in Greek Bronze Age societies and served as powerful reminders that authority rested in the hands of those who could earn it. Superb condition, on a custom-made stand. Size: L:495mm / W:75mm ; 629g. Provenance: Property of a central London Ancient Art Gallery; previously obtained from a British private collection formed in the 1980s.