1200-700 BC, Greek Archaic Period. This beautiful bronze sword has a tapering, bevelled blade with raised midrib and a sub-rectangular handle for insertion into a handle. 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:477mm / W:52mm ; 460g; Provenance: Private collection of an Oxford professional, formed in the 1970s-1990s on the UK art market.