New Gallery Of Ancient Bronze Weaponry From Western Asia

Bob, despite mourning the loss of you from the numismatic fold, I am excited that you have found a new area of collecting to keep you interested in the history of Western Asia. One thing resonated particularly with me in your first essay. Specifically, the practice of burying soldiers and mercenaries with their weapons.




I can't remember for sure, but it seems to me that I read something similar in Japan earlier this year. The killing prowess of the blade existed only in the bond between the original owner and the sword and therefore the sword was bent and then put into the owner's grave. Maybe this philosophy was widespread or even universal at one time? Or perhaps, the "Luristani" weapons were placed in the grave for use in or on the way to the afterworld? Or something else altogether? I don't know, but it is still fascinating to ponder.

Well done on your forvm articles!

Thanks for the comments, guys, and for taking the time to read the essay (a longish one spread over two parts). I appreciate it.




Dave, your comments are interesting. I don't know the significance of the burying of weapons with their warrior owners - whether as a show of respect or for religious purposes - or both. I haven't come across anything regarding this in my research thus far. Probably one of many tidbits that is lost with time.

One thing I have noted while perusing auction sales, both past and present: Occasionally one encounters blades with tips broken off. I have two with busted tips in the gallery, but have spotted more online. Whether the breaking of the tips was by accident (the tip is, after all, the most vulnerable part of a blade's body) or by intent (for some ritualistic purpose) is not always clear.

The sword I have in my gallery seems to have been intentionally mutilated. The gallery pic is here:
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/ga.../Sword_1.jpg

What you don't see in that gallery picture is this, the side view...this is one of the dealer's pics, and is cropped at the bottom:



He, the dealer, speculated that it was an intentional act - and I agree with him. The condition and shape don't look like something that would have occurred during battle or as a result of burial. I would imagine the bending occurred during an intentional breaking off of the tip. But why?

Edit: Oh, forgot to add, Dave: regarding the "loss of (me) from the numismatic fold" - In fact I did get in a few bids on coins this year - losing bids all. And I will return more actively at some point to the coins. I'm just trying for now to get a respectable weapons gallery going and only have so much $$$ to spend. When I feel that the gallery is in cruising mode, I'll start divvying up my resources between the arms and coins. And, in the meantime, my coin research continues. I believe, for example, that in the next issue of KOINON, editor Nick Molinari will be including an unlisted Elymaean variety that I wrote a blurb for.

Yes the purposeful bending of blades when the owner dies is a fascinating topic. With the level of effort and time required to make each one, I would be surprised if there wasn't some deep-seated (religious?) meaning behind this act.

Congrats on your manuscript in the upcoming Koinon. I expect that mine will be in there too. We should talk about collaborating for a future volume if we can find a mutually-interesting research topic.

Many cultures buried weapons and other day to day objects with their dead to aide them in the afterlife. During the Jomon era in Japan 14500- 300 BC, refined to 1000 BC bronze weapons have been found in the burial mounds (tumulus)some were bent others left in tact.

This leaves a question in my mind. Where the bent weapons from enemies that were defeated?

Nice idea, Paul. I do have some recommendations to make. I'll do it through an email to you shortly.

Bob

Thanks, Andrew. Joe has moved one or two things I posted over to Numiswiki through the years. I'll leave it up to him if he wants to add this one too.

I appreciate the nice comments, both here and at Forum.

I discovered today that happiness is a 21 1/2", 3,000 year-old bronze Iranian sword blade.

The fact that the hilt is broken off and lost to time does nothing to diminish the happiness. (Ironic, I suppose, that a weapon of war can make a pacifist so happy)

Arrived today. Won't have time to properly photograph and catalog it - along with others I've been picking up - for several months. Much too busy for the time being. But thought I'd post a quick pic, below. Also recently got a nice little Western Asian tanged spearhead (or dagger) blade from the estate of Marcel Gibrat, who was a restorer/conservator for the Metropolitan Museum of Art - as well as being an avid collector of (and authority on) antiquities. Will add these, and others, to the gallery in a few months.