A Group of Four Ancient Scythian Bronze Arrowheads, circa 700-300 BC

The Scythians were a group of ancient tribes of nomadic Iranian warriors who originally lived in what is now Southern Siberia. Their culture flourished from around 900 BC to around 200 BC, by which time they had extended their influence all over Central Asia – from China to the northern Black Sea. They were fierce archers and potentially the most feared warriors on horseback. 

A group of four bronze arrowheads, reportedly discovered together in the Zagros Mountains of Iran and subsequently retained as a group. Each of characteristic diamond-shape with a raised central midrib and an open socket designed to accommodate a wooden shaft, forming the complete arrow projectile.

Condition: The arrow heads showcase rich green patination on the bronze, testament to the objects’ prolonged burial within the earth.

Reference: Comparable examples are recorded in archaeological literature, notably Ernst Curtius and Friedrich Adler, Olympia: The Results of the Excavations Organised by the German Empire (1890), p. 64, figs. 1077, 1078, 1080, 1085, 1087 and 1088.

Provenance: United Kingdom Private Collection, acquired before 2000.

Printed Certificate of Authenticity included.