Tagar bronze knife
 

Just for show
Tagar bronze knife from the southern Siberia, dated V-II BC

A INTERESTING FORM I HAVE NOT SEEN BEFORE. WHAT SIZE IS IT AND DOES IT LOOK LIKE THERE WERE INSERTS OF BONE OR STONE IN THE HANDLE HOLES OR ARE THEY JUST ROUGH CAST. WHAT SORT OF PEOPLE WERE THESE NOMADS OR CITY FOLK? I HAD A FUNNY THOUGHT LOOKING AT THE LARGE HOLE IN THE POMMEL . THE WORLDS FIRST BOTTLE OPENER BEFORE THERE WERE EVEN BOTTLE CAPS. :D

It's 20 cm. The knife is rough casted (no inserts).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagar_culture

There are a couple of things that puzzle me about this knife. One is the relative lack of corrosion--what kind of environment does that?

The other is the relatively rough casting. I have a modern replica of a European bronze sword, and Neil Burridge, the smith who made it, says that even as fine as that piece is, it's not as good as the real thing in terms of fineness of craftsmanship.

I'm therefore a little puzzled by something that's crudely made and not terribly corroded.

Best,

F

THE ONLY EXPLANATION FOR THE CORROSION PATTERN AS WELL AS THE ROUGH CASTING WOULD BE IF THEY WERE GRAVE GOODS AND A LOT OF THEM WERE STACKED TOGETHER AND NEVER USED. THIS OCCURS IN SOME OF CHINA'S BRONZE AGE BURIALS. ANOTHER POSSIBILITY WOULD BE IF IT IS MORE OF A FORM OF MONEY THAN A KNIFE OR TOOL. THIS ALSO OCCURED IN CHINA"S BRONZE AGE AND WERE OFTEN TOGETHER IN A HOARD. THE OTHER POSSIBILITY MORE RECENTLY MADE REPLICA THIS ALSO OCCURS IN MANY FORMS IN CHINA TODAY. THE MANY SCYTHIAN BRONZE AXES AND SWORDS FOLLOW THE SAME POSSIBILITYS AS THE CHINESE.

that's right
this knife came from the burial complex (it's definitely not a Chinese fake)
so it's condition is untouched - knife is still sharp as new