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1 of 253523 objects
The Rillaton dagger 1700-1500 BC: Early Bronze Age
Copper alloy | 10.0 cm (whole object) | RCIN 69743
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A large fragment of a double-edged copper alloy dagger with the tip, lower section of the blade and grip missing. The blade is decorated with three thin ribs in a fuller running behind the cutting edge and the centre section of the dagger covered in fine punched dot work.
Provenance
Discovered in 1837 with the remains of a skeleton, a gold cup and other burial goods in a stone cist beneath a cairn at Rillaton, Cornwall. The land where the objects were found belonged to the Duchy of Cornwall, so the cup and dagger were presented to William IV as a Treasure Trove shortly before he died. Later, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert displayed the items at their private museum in the Swiss Cottage, Osborne House, on the Isle of Wight. After George V's death in 1936 and following an investigation into the history of the 'Rillaton Find', Queen Mary advised her son Edward VIII to lend the cup and dagger to the British Museum on long term loan.
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Creator(s)
(nationality)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Copper alloy
Measurements
10.0 cm (whole object)
Category
Object type(s)
