Ancient Greece, Helladic, Late Bronze Age, Late Helladic, ca. 1600 to 1100 BCE. A weapon built for the real business of survival, this Late Helladic bronze dagger has the clean, purposeful profile of a tool meant to be trusted when everything else fails. Cast in bronze with a long tapering blade and an integral hilt, the dagger presents a single, continuous silhouette that feels almost architectural in its clarity. The hilt rises to a broad, crescent-like pommel, while the grip is defined by a series of rivet heads that once secured inlays, likely of bone or ivory. Those organic elements are now lost, as they so often are, but their absence only sharpens the dagger's austere beauty: metal alone, doing the work. Size: 15.5" L x 2.5" W (39.4 cm x 6.4 cm)

The form reflects a crucial evolution in Aegean weapon-making. Many earlier swords and daggers were constructed with narrow tangs to which separate hilts were riveted, a practical design that nevertheless carried a fatal flaw - the tang could snap under stress, leaving the warrior with a broken blade and a very bad day. By contrast, the integral hilt and pommel of this example would have created a notably sturdier weapon, engineered to withstand the violence of close combat.

Weapons like this were not only carried, but also curated. Large numbers of swords and daggers, many broken or damaged, were placed in the graves of Greek warriors, likely as emblems of prowess and lived experience. In the Late Bronze Age world of fortified citadels, chariot warfare, and heroic identity, a blade was never merely a blade - it was a biography in bronze. With its confident casting, elegant proportions, and battle-ready construction, this dagger stands as a vivid relic of the martial culture that shaped the Mycenaean age, poised on the edge between practical weapon and enduring symbol.

Cf. The British Museum, 1975,0712.67 and 1887,0501.7.

Provenance: private London, UK collection

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#201139

Missing hilt inlays. Softening to blade edge as well as surface wear commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellently preserved with very nice presentation and rich patina throughout.