12th-6th century BC. A bronze dagger with the flanges of the ricasso extended and hammered over the original inlay in the form of wings, flat base to the hilt and pointed blade with straight sides. See Maxwell-Hyslop, R., 'Daggers and swords in Western Asia: a Study from Prehistoric Times to 600BC,' in Iraq, Volume 8, 1946, pp.1-65, pl.IV, fig.32a. 244 grams, 39cm (15 1/2"). Property of a London gallery; previously in a private UK collection formed 1980s-1990s. The sword belongs to the variant 32a of the Maxwell-Hyslop classification, where the ricasso is a continuation of the hilt. These swords were widely spread in the Near East (Palestine, Syria) and Persia (Luristan"). The fashion of extending the side flanges, usually near the juncture of hilt and blade, and hammering them over the inlay in the shape of wings, was already practiced in the Aegean in Minoan Medium III and it is found in some swords of the Fifth Shaft Grave of Mycenae. Condition Report Fine condition.