A “Luristan” Dagger: An Examination of Ancient Metallurgical Techniques

THE dagger (Plate X, i; Fig. i), now in private possession, was purchased in Teheran in I960, and like most objects from dealers at that time was reported to have come from Resht on the Caspian Sea. Since the hilt had broken in antiquity and the recently soldered joint (Fig. i) could be taken apart easily, the writers decided to submit the dagger to an extensive metallurgical examination by cutting from it small unobtrusive specimens. The compositions of the metallic parts were determined by spectrographic and chemical analyses and these results can be compared to other analyses of Luristan bronzes published recently elsewhere.2 In addition, the non-metallic core material within the hilt (Fig. 2) was also analysed.