1200-700 BC, Greek Archaic Period. This beautiful bronze sword has a tapering, bevelled blade with raised midrib, an integral handle with openwork decoration and a heavy, crescentic “skull crusher” guard which could be used for secondary bludgeoning attacks. 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 stand.Size: L:495mm / W:98mm ; 970g; Provenance: From the collection of a gentleman based in London; formerly in an old British collection; acquired in the 1980s.