8th-7th century BC. A long sword with double-edged iron lentoid-section blade, bronze hilt with scooped lower guard, three beaded collars, crescentic pommel with lobe finials and raised knop to the upper face; traces of mineralised wooden scabbard present, especially near tip of blade. Cf. Khorasani, M.M. Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, item 19. 1.1 kg, 77cm (30 1/4"). Property of a North West London gentleman; formerly with a central London gallery in 1990.