In the years which followed, a number of museums held special exhibitions of Luristan bronzes, while scholars churned out scores of articles relating the objects to a people who left no written records. I myself acquired a large number from a dealer at Tehran and cleared them for export through the Iran Bostan (Archaeological) Museum at Tehran.l The story of the bronzes will cover a number of subjects: the search for the bronzes, the types and their manufacture, problems of dating, an account of local divinities, the presentation of a hierarchy of warriors, and the illustrated presence of ancient cults.
The most valuable account of the cemeteries, their graves, and the contents of the graves comes from the report of a Belgian Expedition that excavated two sites in 1965 and 1966. Forty-three graves were uncovered at Tepe Kalwali in 1965 and 106 graves at War Kabud in 1966. The first site yielded only implements of iron, while War Kabud gave up quantities of bronze weapons and reflected the final stage of the bronze age culture of Luristan.
The tombs were roughly rectangular or oval in shape and were lined with limestone slabs or rough stones and were roofed with stone slabs either laid flat or sloping. Some stones showed signs of quarrying. Some were paved with small flat pieces of stone. They were found at a depth of between 1.2 and 2 meters.
The position of the skeletons indicates that the bodies were placed in a crouching position, oriented east/west and with the face turned to the north. The excavators stated that the bodies were clothed but failed to present any evidence to support this report. Alongside the body had been placed handmade pottery and objects of bronze. The pottery may have contained food and drink. Some graves were accompanied by slight stone pillars upon which offerings could be placed. The graves of the better off contained shallow bronze cups, while the other graves displayed only pottery cups. The graves of the women contained elegant necklaces and earrings of gold and silver and, in bronze, rings, bracelets and other objects of adornment.
Plundered, exposed graves reveal that occasionally horses were buried with their riders and with all the harness elements. In other cases the horse's head lay on the man's arm or the arm encircled the head. Chariot fittings were also found.
In a comment from one source about plundered graves is the statement, "In a few graves there were still traces of textiles, disintegrated shreds, which the native digger could not remove."
Of the questions about who, where, and when of the bronze makers, only the second can be answered with certainty.
Along the western edge of Iran runs the great Zagros range, a series of roughly parallel lines of peaks running southeast for several hundred miles. Some 60 miles wide, it is cut across the grain by passes 9,000 feet high. The sketch map of Iran locates the region of Luristan, with the name meaning "Land of the Lurs" after the tribal group that has led a nomadic life and then a more settled existence in this region and beyond for centuries. As many as 200,000 Lurs speak a dialect of farsi, the Persian language. The region includes two areas, one the pish-i-kuh. or "in front of the mountains," and the other the pusht-i-kuh or "beyond the mountains." A major river, known as the Qara Su in its upper reaches and as the Saimareh further downstream, flows in a tortuous course around towering rock formations. Streams dashing down narrow valleys flow into it, with the waters finally emptying into the Persian Gulf.
Above the stream beds small plateaus rise in a series of steps suitable more for grazing than for cultivation. Small oaks and wild pistacio trees dot the landscape and in early summer lush grasses flourish and wild flowers carpet the slopes.
Much of the area of the pish-i-kuh is about 8,000 feet above sea level, while the pusht-i-kuh averages about 3,000 feet. Some motorable roads penetrate the areas, but the region remains relatively remote. I once drove my car from Shahabad on the main highway across Iran to Ilam, a pleasant small village in the heart of the pusht-i-kuh. I found no bronzes for sale. (In the eight year war between Iran and Iraq, the village was wiped off the map.)
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An estimated 200,000 Lurs belong to a number of related tribes, with these tribes members of a larger group, or federation. These tribes and their subtribes have such names as the Kakawand, Jalalwand, Hasanwand, Quliwand, Suri and Amrai. In some of these names, wand means "belonging to," while the first part of these names is that of the legendary ancestors of the tribe. Thus, the Hasanwand are the people who "belong to Hasan."
Within the boundaries of Iran are a number of important tribal federations, and all these tribes move with the seasons. This pattern of movement is followed by the Lurs. In the late spring the Lurs drive their flocks of sheep and goats slowly upward along narrow, difficult trails until they reach the highest mountain valleys where pasture and water are to be found throughout the summer months. Tents, household effects, and personal belongings are carried on animals. In the fall the Lurs dismantle their tents and move down to the warmer plains on the flanks of the great Zagros range. The Lurs plant some wheat and barley and gather fruit and nuts, but they rely on their flocks for nearly all their basic needs of life. The sheep and goats in their thousands provide milk, mast (yoghurt), dried curd, cheese, clarified butter for cooking, and meat. The wool of the animals and the animals themselves are taken to market in the nearest towns, as are some of the dairy products. Rugs, woven by the women of the tribes from wool which they have spun and dyed, are sold in these towns. With the money they obtain, the tribesmen bargain in the bazaars for flour, sugar, tea, kerosene, matches, salt, cloth, jewelry, and ammunition for their guns.
Some are dated as early as the 25th century long before production began and many when cited by scholars are inadequately identified for the layman. For example, a piece in the British Museum bears an inscription of Shamash Killanni of the Second Dynasty of Isin. Who and when was he? There is no single published list of all the inscribed bronzes.
A very long article, "Prehistoric Copper and Bronze Metallurgy in Western Iran," exhaustively investigates this subject and suggests some earlier dates for Luristan bronzes. Too complex for discussion here, it is included in the Bibliograpy.
The people living in the mountains of Luristan seemed to have been fascinated by the animal kingdom, since the bronzes depict animals, birds, fish, and insects both cast in bronze and incised on bowls and plaques.
Wild life that was local to the region includes the mountain goat (ibex), mountain sheep, deer, bear, fox, and boar. Lions, leopards, panthers, and antelopes are also illustrated; they may all have been native to the region in early times. The monkey, shown infrequently, was a curiosity that may have been shown by traveling entertainers. The domestic animals and fowl include the horse, sheep, goat, pig, bull, cow, camel, dog, rooster, duck, goose, and dove. Not domesticated were the bee, eagle, snake, fish, crane, and frog.
Many fantastic animals are found among the bronzes. Some have been provided with wings, a mark of association with divinities. Some are composite animals, some have human faces and some animals have plant forms growing out of their backs. Bracelets show a pair of dogs and another of sleeping ducks; on the heads of pins are sitting ducks and antelope heads.
Some of the standards display small protuberances on the main figure that are recognizable rooster heads. The rooster was the attribute of the divinity Sraosha and so appear on many of the standards in more appropriate positions. In one example, two roosters fight with long necked animals, and in another four heads of roosters flank the divinity. Of all the illustrations known of the bronzes, only the Foroughi Collection identifies and illustrates examples of the rooster cult.
These figurines provide the only insight into the social and sexual life of the makers of the bronzes. The list given below is far from complete.
1. Nude bronze goddess holding her
breasts. Her head is surmounted by a
delicately chased ibex. Height 9 5/8".
2. Bronze figure of a bearded
hermaphroditic divinity holding its breasts.
Height 4 1\2".
3. An hermaphroditic figure whose two
sides represent the two sexes.
4. Bronze pin topped by a nude figure.
5. Standing figure with arms akimbo and
suspension loop on back. Sex is not
indicated.
Very puzzling is the presence of hermaphroditic divinities. Anthropologists and other researchers have studied the social organization of the tribal groups of Iran and published their findings. Sexual habits are reported as "normal" with an excess of women over men. Does the presence of these divinities indicate that they protected both men and women?
Other figures and combinations of figures extend the probable number of local divinities. I cite a small figurine formerly in my own collection: a quadruped with a horn springing from its head is surmounted by a figure with a large nose, large eyes, and a conical cap, his right arm raised in a fist. It is this gesture that suggests a divinity in control of nature.
In addition to the figurines there was an abundance of separate parts of figures. They included amulets displaying hands and feet and were exactly in the line of appeals that survive today, appeals for cures to the inflicted parts, perhaps hands that long ago suffered from arthritis.
It is difficult to distinguish between equipment used for hunting and that for warfare as there is a considerable overlapping. Hunters and warriors were armed with bows and arrows as witnessed by finding bronze quivers, countless arrow heads, and many bow rings. All hunters and warriors carried daggers.
Now, bronze casting appeared about 3000 B.C. and cast and forged iron about 1000 B.C. From the graves have come hundreds of forged daggers that are almost identical: the ends of the handles are decorated either with human or lions heads. Today we would call such items "GI" (general issue) equipment.
A warrior on horseback could handle only two weapons and he had to decide whether to carry a mace, a battle axe, or a lance. Helmets were worn and the bosses of shields have been found. Many axes have been found and among the many are those which I choose to call ceremonial axes. They are identified by the facts' that either the blade shape is impractical, such as a narrow rectangle, or that the blades are deformed, that is, are set at such an angle to the position of the shaft that they turn in on themselves. It is my conviction that they were made only for funerary purposes, with the blades, so-to-speak, "killed" before they were placed with the dead. In addition, in some cases ornamental details appear on the actual cutting edges. None of the weapons recovered from the graves show any signs of wear.
The subject of horse gear and chariot parts is related to the mention of hunting and warfare equipment. The horses bits that have survived from the graves in the hundreds are of three types:
1. with a straight mouth bar;
2. with a mouth bar curved in the middle; or
3. two parts linked in the middle.
Most of them are very heavy and are provided with two rings on each cheek plaque for straps to pass over the horses' noses. Some of the bits had small spikes which must have caused pain when a rider pulled hard on the reins. There are innumerable harness rings of different types and some bells, large and small. Reliefs from the palaces of Assyria display harnessed horses. The chariot fittings include hub caps and shaft, or pole, caps and hangers to support cloth hanging on the sides of the chariots.
Domestic equipment from the graves is present in large numbers and in great variety. While the graves have yielded a limited amount of undistinguished pottery, the number of bronze household vessels and other items has been inexhaustible. While we believe these people to have been semi-nomadic, this belief based on the absence of remains of coherent villages, the great variety of household pieces would seem to bring that conclusion into question. There are cups, dishes, bowls, rhytons, beakers, and other kinds of containers for food and drink, too many to list. Tools were in use and a number of whetstones with the ancient stones set into bronze handles have been found. A general list of other objects includes a mirror, lamp, knife, ewer, needle, stamp seal, bell, heavy ring shaped weights - grain and other products of the soil were sold by weight in all these early cultures. Other items include bronze feet and sleeves for fastening parts of furniture pieces together. Furniture is scarce among nomadic people.
Objects of copper were made in a number of regions of the ancient world as early as 4000 B.C. and bronzes were being cast by about 3000 B.C. The royal tombs of Ur, in Mesopotamia, dated about 2500 B.C., yielded many fine bronzes. Bronze is an alloy of copper that contains over two percent of tin, the maximum percentage that occurs as a natural impurity in veins of copper. Bronze objects replaced copper because this metal was found to be stronger, harder, and more resistant to corrosion than was copper. The strength of the alloy increased as up to ten percent of tin was added to the molten copper. Too high a percentage made the bronze brittle. Metallurgical analyses of many Luristan pieces indicated that 11 percent of tin was an average.
As has been indicated, weapons and tools of bronze were much superior to those of copper and were less subject to wear. Molten bronze was more satisfactory for casting than was copper, since it filled the molds more evenly.
The following steps were involved in making the bronzes. Slabs of oak were piled up and burned in the absence of oxygen - the piles may have been covered with clay or soil - to make charcoal. Charcoal was easily made, but all later steps had to be carried out by smiths. Very little is known about the ancient smiths. It is tempting to try to trace them back to Cain who bore a mark that made him safe from revenge for the slaying of Abel, to his descendant Tubal-Cain, smith and worker of iron, to the smiths of Arabia who bore a brand on their forehead that enabled them to move safely among hostile regions because their special skill was respected by all. Scholars suggest that the smiths were attached to temples and supervised by priests, but this idea does not appear to find root in Luristan where no temples of any size have been found. It is known that when the Hittite empire in Asia Minor broke up about 1200 B.C. iron workers who had served the Hittites sought other patrons.
In the ancient world the smiths were in guilds or castes of their own and were not integrated with the general population. Evidence to support this fact comes from early inscriptions from Mesopotamia and from what is known about them in other areas of the world. Within these craft guilds the special skills were handed down through generations. Their occupation was not seasonal but could be carried out throughout the year. Their technical skills, so unrelated to any aspects of nomadic and settled life, clad them with an aura of mystery. In all early times metals were thought to have magical properties and the smiths were regarded as magicians. Evidence from much later periods indicate that a fixed ritual marked each step in the casting, and it might well have been observed in much earlier times.
The smiths worshipped the divinities who were the patrons of their art. In ancient Mesopotamia Ea was the patron god of metal workers and somewhat later the fire god, Girru, was associated with the craft. Still later, it may have been the god Gilgamesh, mentioned in inscriptions as "the man of fire and the axe," who protected workers in metal. A possible interpretation of some of the so-called standards is that they show Gilgamesh in the act of protecting the smiths.
The same pit, or an adjacent one, was ready for the next step. Measured lumps of crude tin and crude copper were placed in a fired clay bowl over the charcoal. Since the melting point of the metals was higher than that of the initial step, a higher temperature was attained by using a blow pipe aimed at the base of the flame or by pumping a bellows made from the skins of animals.
Then, the molten metal was poured from the clay bowl into molds. No such molds have been found in Luristan; they were broken after use and discarded.
The molds were made as follows: A smith heated a lump of beeswax until it was warm and pliable and then rolled it in his palms until it approached the size and shape of the object he planned to make. More careful work with his fingers roughed out the object and then the details were established by using small knives and punches. For example, hollow ended punches created eyes. When the wax model was completed it was given several short wax arms and it was dipped into a bowl that contained clay of a creamy consistency. After this coating had dried, a much thicker layer of clay enclosed it; then the mold was finished.
A variation of the lost wax process was called hollow casting. The wax model was made around a core of oiled sand. Filling the mold and then breaking it were done as usual and then water was used to wash out the sand, leaving a hollow space within the casting. The many bell shaped bases of the standards were hollow castings. Flat pieces of bronze were also cast, some as round pieces and some as strips. These were decorated by incising a design with a sharp instrument or by repousse', a process used to create the design in relief by hammering the strip into a stone mold that was the reverse image of the design and then incising the details. As they emerged from the molds, the bronzes were somewhat rough and uneven. Surfaces, edges, and details were made smooth and precise, using files, drills, and sharp instruments of bronze. Swords and daggers were given sharp edges by hammering the blades on an anvil.
As the bronzes emerged from the molds, they were a rather bright orange-red color, but none of those found in the graves are of this color. Instead, their surfaces display patinas, a thin film created after many years of aging. Most often, the patina is a subdued shade of green, although it may be a very light green, a blue-green, brown, or black. Collectors value pieces on which the patina is porcelain-like and is uniform in color.
1. on the shaft of a pin, a feline figure stands on hindlegs and places
his forepaws on the neck of an ibex with spreading horns, in front of
him a duck and in front of the ibex a tiny creature.
2. a person stands on two recumbent wild mountain goats; out of
their shoulders issue the heads of two roosters, attacked by two
animals.
3. a bronze decorated with three lions devouring a wild mountain
goat
4. a figure standing on the back of a winged horse; under its
hooves, two recumbent animals.
5. a couple, male and female, sitting on an animal
Figurine, couple seated on an animal,7 p. 43.
These warriors were mercenaries in the service of rulers and others in the lowlands of Mesopotamia. How do we know this to be the case? Because of the numerous axes, daggers, and other objects in bronze bearing incised cuneiform inscriptions. Seventeen such objects appear in a single collection of Luristan bronzes. All can be related to definite historical periods. The earliest date to the 25th century B.C., that is, a time before Luristan bronzes were produced. Several display the names of kings of Babylon and three of the kings and princes of Akkad, including Naram-sin who is well known to history because he is portrayed on stone artifacts, among which is the famed Victory Stele executed in red sandstone and on display in the Louvre.
As a mercenary reached the end of his time of service, he was presented with an inscribed object, taken from a royal or other treasury. The object was not contemporary with his period of activity. We may assume that they were highly prized by the warriors.
Herodotus writing in 447 B.C. about the Achaemenid empire refers to the Nisaean horses as being of unusual size and states that they were raised on a vast plain in Media. Arrian and Ammianus, other historians of this period, state that their grazing lands were in mountains that we can identify with the Zagros range. In color the horses ranged from dun to grey to white and were highly regarded for speed, endurance, and beauty.
Today the Lurs do not drive all their horses to winter pastures, but move the yearlings to towns to the south and east where they are sold to villagers and tribesmen at markets and fairs. We may believe that a similar pattern was followed by the ancient Lurs.
Here we insert a reminder that a number of what seem to be purely local divinities has previously been presented: These are figures in the round, all of miniature or portable size.
The religious scenes appear on the heads of pins, that is, as circular disks up to several centimeters in diameter. They are assumed to have decorated shrines and been cared for by a body of priests, but only the few objects from Surkh Dum are tied to a shrine. This temple displays an Assyrian plan, a main hall with six entrances, a fire altar, and wall decoration in tiles in relief. One disk from Surkh Dum shows a sky complex with the large face of a Sky Divinity flanked by rampant lions. Below is a bearded man mounted on a cow with a nursing calf; the significance of this last scene is not explained. My only experience with men riding on cows is at the town of Dam in southeastern Iran where the practice is well established.
The Sky Divinity often has a headdress of bull's horns and has an eagle's wings. With the coming of the warm fertile spring season, he sacrifices the bulls which were symbols of the Moon and releases the lions who stood for the Sun. In Aryan beliefs this same god was Mithra who had the attributes of a lion who, upon occasion, feasted on bulls and goats.
Scholars pressed to find explanations for the scenes on the pin heads may create unintended confusion. In one such example, the scene is shown on three registers. In the middle one, the head of a lion is centered and flanked by rampant lions that grasp the hind legs of mountain goats. The lower register depicts a priest to the right offering a drink of haoma, the divine liquor, to a seated person, with an infant at his feet and to the left another priest wearing the baresman-tamarisk branches. The upper register shows priests standing on either side of a brazier on a tripod, about to lift a vessel containing cooked flesh. The explanation demands a reference to a Greek historian, Strabo, to Zoroastrian hymns, the Yasna, and to counter views as to whether or not Zoroaster sanctioned the use of hoama and the sacrifice of flesh. This interpretation is additionally muddled by the fact that the Yasna were not recorded in manuscript form until about the time of the Christian era.
We are familiar with the master of animals as he appears on the standards. A circular disk shows a naturalistic version in which the master, shown frontally, holds two bulls by their hind legs in an upside down position. Two pin heads depict women giving birth and in one scene the head and neck of a man, not a baby, has emerged from the womb.
As I worked to fit together the related aspects of the Luristan bronzes, I became puzzled about the economy of these ancient Lurs. Much of this activity took place well before the late 7th century D. C. when currency, in the shape of silver coins, came into limited circulation. How were the smiths, an alien ethnic element, paid? What form of payment did the Lurs receive for the yearling horses they sold in other areas? How were the Lurs who served as mercenaries for Assyria rewarded?
I asked these questions of renowned archaeologists and their hesitant answer was limited to a single word, "barter."
Precious metals, silver and gold, were highly valued in the pre- currency era and later as well. Did the Lurs barter their resources for precious metals? No. This answer came from the graves. The Belgians found a few small gold items, such as earrings. The Foroughi Collection, materials from plundered graves, contains a number of silver items, almost all of miniature size, as follows: three bowls, 4 1/2" to 6" in diameter; vases, 3 1/2" high; fibula, 1 1/2" long; two pins, 8" long; two armlets; two pieces of spiral jewelry, and two gold and carnelian necklaces.
At several sites in northwestern Iran excavators have been richly rewarded. These are Hasanlu, some 350 kilometers from Ilam; Ziwiye, some 400 kilometers and Marlik, some 500 kilometers. Hasanlu, a fortified town, yielded gold vessels and other material dated between 1250 and 1050 B.C., notably a story-telling gold vessel with the story of conflicts between monsters and gods in two registers. At Ziwiye a cache of gold jewelry of several sizes and shapes was found, and at Marlik excavated tombs gave up gold and silver vessels in several elaborate styles. As in the other sites named, the figures of winged bulls were executed in repousee. As we have noted, winged animals represented divinities.
Without supporting evidence, we can suggest that all gold and silver was collected in the towns of Luristan. The presence of such towns is suggested by the extensive stone remains of building at Tarhan. Then, as at Hasanlu, they would have been stolen in the course of warfare.
The material presented in these pages bears no relation to the thesis stated in the opening paragraph and to which we may add an extension of the thesis, "Fresh visual evidence... lends support to the view that several of the oldest rug designs are indeed related to the first millenenium B.C. art of the zoomorphic or 'animal style'." The evidence for Luristan folk weavings and weaving designs that survived over very long periods of time is negative.
Horizontal looms could not have survived. Many ancient sites provide evidence of sophisticated looms by the presence of scores of loom weights: truncated cones some 10 cm. high of fired clay with a hole pierced through near the top. No loom weights were found in Luristan. Excavated bodies were said to have been clothed. Nomadic women did not weave clothes; the evidence is from the Qashqa'i tribes. None of the designs incised on the bronzes or executed by repousse' have any relation to textile patterns. Finally, James Opie in writing about the Lurs in his Tribal Rugs of Southern Persia states "...rugs made by the Lurs. In the boldness and relative simplicity of their weavings there are strong hints of a very old approach to the use of color and design in weaving... The Lurs were not prolific weavers; to my knowledge, no examples of their weavings before the mid-l9th century have been located."
Bronze Cup of Ovoid Shape
The cuneiform inscription of 10 lines contains a dedication by an
official, named Ishgarum, to a royal prince of Akkad. 25th century
B.C.
Bronze Cup
Of ovoid shape. The inscription of 10 lines gives the name of Lilul,
king of Akkad. 25th century B.C.
Bronze Bowl
Of ovoid shape. The cuneiform inscription of four lines gives the
name of Naram-Sin, king of Akkad. 25th century B.C.
Bronze Cup
With a small foot, decorated lip, and straight sides. The cuneiform
inscription of three lines gives the name of Shu-Ishter, son of the
scribe Izna. 25th century B.C.
Bronze Ax with an Engraved Inscription
Giving the name of Shilhak-Inshushinak, king of Susa. 12th
century B.C.
Bronze Ax with Socket
The decorative motifs on the blade are engraved and in relief. An
inscription of five and three lines, respectively, on both sides of the
ax, gives the name of Nabuchodonosor I, king of Babylon. On the
back of the socket are four spikes, one of which is broken. 12th
century B.C.
Bronze Ax with Socket
The blade resembles that of a halberd. Cuneiform inscription in six
lines gives the names of Addapaksu, the "sukkal" of Susa. 18th
century B.C.
Combination Bronze Pike and Ax with Socket
Cuneiform inscription in four lines with the name of Sudurul, king
of Akkad. 25th century B.C.
Short Bronze Sword
Flat pommel rounded off on top. The hilt was originally inlaid with
incrustations, now lost. Inscription on one side with the name of
Nabuchodonosor I, king of Babylon. l2th century B.C.
Bronze Dagger
With hollow-cast hilt. An inscription of two lines on both sides
gives the name of Adad-shum-usur, son of Kashtiliash, king of
Babylon. l3th century B.C.
Bronze Dagger
With hollow-cast hilt. An inscription in two lines on both sides
gives the name of Nin-Urta-nadin-shumi, king of Babylon. 12th
century B.C.
Bronze Dagger
Hollow-cast hilt with flanges. Inscription in two lines on both sides
gives the name of Nabuchodonosor, king of Babylon. l2th century
B.C.
Bronze Dagger
Hollow-cast hilt with flanges. An inscription of two lines on both
sides. End of 2nd-beginning of 1st millennium B.C.
Bronze Dagger
With square blade pierced by holes for the attachment of the hilt,
now lost. Cuneiform inscription in two lines gives the name of
Humban-ummena, king of Susa. l3th century B.C.
Bronze Mace
Of ribbed, globular shape. Inscription of 13 lines with a dedication
to a king of Akkad by a "patesi." l5th century B.C.
Bronze Arrow Head
Formed like a laurel leaf. On both sides, an inscription with the
name of Ninurta-kudurri-usur, king of Babylon. l0th century B. C.
The pages you will have read presented differing views as to the ethnic group that produced the bronzes. My conviction that it was a group of Aryans came to a head when I wrote a book for Persian children called "The Bronze Makers (Mofragh Sazman)" that was published, well illustrated, at Tehran in 1973. It emphasized the Aryan background of the bronze makers.
For years I maintained a bibliography of books and articles on the bronze production, but the present study is based on a limited number of written sources. Now the notes reveal the sources. The numerous illustrations come from several sources. A few are my own drawings, a few from enlargements made for me at Missouri from objects formerly in my possession and from the various publications that were consulted.
Dog
Rooster
Monkey
Snake
Fish
Fox
Crane
Duck
Goose
Frog
Bee
Lion
Bear
Sheep
6. 7000 Years of Iranian Art, 1964-65
7. Venden Berghe, Louis, Het Archeoglisch Onderzoek naar de
Bronscultuur van Luristan, 1968, (Summary in French)
8. Waldbaum, Jane C., "Luristan Bronzes," Record of the Art
Museum, Princeton University, Volume 32, No.3, pp. 8-15
9. Moorey, P.R.S., "Prehistoric Copper and Bronze Metallurgy in
Western Iran, with special reference to Luristan", Iran, XVII (1969),
pp. 131-154
10. Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Missouri
11. DNW (Donald N. Wilber) drawing
The Discovery of the Luristan Bronzes
Herzfeld, E., in 1928. Archaeogische Mitteilunger aus Iran 1-11,
(1929-1930)
Pope, Arthur U., Illustrated London News, June 1929 and
September 6 and 13, 1930
