Ca. 600–400 BC. Scythian. A rare bronze dagger with a long, thin blade and a guard, the hilt ending in an ovoid transition type pommel. The guard/hilt would have been made separately from the blade and then cast together. A bronze chape is decorated by a pair of zoomorphic figures. The Scythians were a warlike nomadic people who dominated the Pontic Steppe (the area north of the Black Sea and stretching as far as Central Asia) in the 7th–3rd centuries BC. Mounted on a custom-made stand. Excellent condition; beautiful patina. For more information on Scythian daggers, see Simpson, St J. & Pankova, S. (2017). Scythians – Warriors of Ancient Siberia. British Museum, 224ff. Size: L:320mm / W:100mm ; 296g. Provenance: Property of a European collector, acquired in 2018, previously owned by a London gentleman R. P. T.