Late 2nd-1st millennium BC. A bronze dagger blade with prominently curved guard, which extends out from the ricasso of the 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. 179 grams, 39.2cm (15 1/2"). Formerly from a late Japanese gentleman's collection, 1970-2010. The hilt of such swords was made separately, and unfortunately is nearly always missing from the archaeological records. Similar daggers had a northern Iranian background and excavated examples have been recorded from the South Caspian Area from Tomadjan and Ghalekuti.