North-Central Europe
300-900 C.E.
23″ long

Beginning in the Bronze Age, in much of what is now Europe, there emerged a practice of ritually “killing” weapons and other possessions to be buried with the warrior to whom they had belonged, or offered as votive objects in related ceremonies. We can only guess at the purpose of this practice: perhaps bending and twisting the object made the weapon unusable to anyone else, or perhaps it was an expression of grief.

Such objects have been unearthed widely in Europe, but it’s rare to find one of such beauty and unique sculptural value. It is still possible to see where the hilt was attached. And the surface quality of this piece, its oxidation over more than a thousand years, is wondrous.