Pre-Viking Russian Bronze / Iron Dagger - Wolf Handle

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VARIETY SALE | Antiquities & Ethnographic Art...

By Artemis Gallery

Aug 6, 2019

Set Reminder 2019-08-06 11:00:00 2019-08-06 11:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : VARIETY SALE | Antiquities & Ethnographic Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/variety-sale-antiquities-ethnographic-art-4326
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• Lot Description
  Central Asia, Russia, Perm region, Perm Animal Style (Permian Animal Style), ca. 5th to 11th centuries CE. A gorgeous and rare ancient weapon. The iron blade is long and straight, probably once sharpened on both sides. The handle is a highly polished cast white bronze (a copper alloy with a high percentage of tin). The handle is decorated and terminates in an in-profile slinking wolf, its head down as if it is eating, its body formed to create a shape similar to the famous lobed pommels of the Viking period. Wolves were seen as dangerous creatures - hence myths about werewolves - and the eating of wolf flesh was banned in this time period for fear that it would turn the eater into a fearsome hybrid beast. The handle was made as two halves and put together around the iron blade, and was originally stuffed with leather, wood, and other perishable materials to making the fit of the blade tight. Size: 1.5" W x 6.95" H (3.8 cm x 17.7 cm); 8.25" H (21 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  Similar handles are known from the taiga zone along the banks of the Ob River, in modern day west-central Russia; other examples come from cemeteries in the same region and especially further north, all the way to the Yamal Peninsula, on the Arctic Sea. The Perm Animal Style is associated with a loosely culturally connected group of people known as the Finno-Ugric peoples who lived in west central Siberia, from modern day Perm north to the Arctic Sea. They freely took artistic influence from those who came before them, like the Scytho-Siberians, and from colonists from the west, like the Vikings, but developed their own clear style that archaeologists know from graves scattered throughout the taiga. Birds of prey, ungulates like reindeer, canines, and bears abound in their iconography; human representations are also common. These zoomorphic designs seem to share some common culture with the fantastical animals of pagan Viking art, but with some major stylistic differences. Notably, like the Scythians who occupied much of this landscape before them, they tend to focus on individual elements of animals - beaks, feet, claws, mouths, and eyes. Imagining the lifestyle of people in the vast regions of the north - both in taiga and in forest - animals hardy enough to live through the dark winters would have been of great interest and probably played major roles in their folklore as well as being human companions and fellow hunters (birds of prey), food sources (reindeer), and threats (bears and wolves). This iconographic style had remarkable uniformity of design across a vast region and long time period. Although nearly all of our knowledge comes from grave goods, these items seem to have been extensively used in life based upon wear patterns (unlike some other cultures, where goods are produced solely to be placed in graves). They were probably worn on the belt of their owner in life, at a time (which continued into the medieval European period) when flashing, jingling decoration was in fashion. Today, as climate change causes the melting of the permafrost in Siberia, many of these archaeological sites are thawing (and threatened), presenting an opportunity to learn more about these elusive ancient people.
  
  Provenance: Ex-Private LA County collection acquired in The Dominican Republic over 20 years ago
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #127618

  Condition

  Bronze handle is in nice condition, with clear form and much remaining detail. Light patina on surface. Iron blade is corroded, with tip missing.
• Shipping Info

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