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Product description
The khopesh was a curved sickle-shaped Egyptian sword from the Bronze age that originated from earlier crescent-shaped Mesopotamian battle axe. The khopesh was already used around 2500 B.C., around that time the first depiction of the khopesh can be seen on the Vulture Stele, about the Sumerian king Eannatum of Lagash. Around the 16th century B.C., the khopesh was the most popular weapon of ancient Egypt. The blade of a khopesh was medium 50-60 cm long. The khopesh was versatile in use, the curve of the blade was used to pin the enemy's arm or to knock away the shield and it was a very effective weapon in close combat. The khopesh was initially made of bronze, but from the sixteenth century B.C. it was made of iron. The sword probably also had a religious function, because Egyptian pharaohs are depicted with a khopesh in wall paintings in burial chambers (for example the tomb of Tutankhamun from the fourteenth century B.C.). The sword fell out of use around 1300-1200 B.C., but is still mentioned on the Rosetta Stone.
This khopesh has a blade of 9260 spring steel with a black finish and along the entire length of the blade a brass snake winds. The hilt has brass decorations, with a lacquered wood grip. The brass fittings just below the hilt show two snakes whose head rest at the beginning of the hilt, between them both it is possible to see water. The rest of the hilt has geometric motifs. On top of the hilt is a Uraeus, a raised cobra. For the Egyptians, this was a symbol of royal and divine authority, and was also associated with the afterlife. This khopesh with its beautiful decorations and references to Egyptian art is a masterpiece for collectors.
