Circa 1200 BC - 700 BC A bronze dagger blade with prominently curved guard, which extends out from the ricasso of the pointed blade and partly frames the hilt, thick midrib extending slightly above the ricasso where it held the hilt. See similar swords in Muscarella, O.W., Bronze and Iron Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1988, pp.99-100. Size: L:430mm / W:60mm ; 200g. Provenance: Private UK collection; Formerly acquired on the European art market from pre-2000 collections.