Bronze horse-bit with decorated cheek-pieces

Early Iron Age, about 10th-7th centuries BC. From Luristan, western Iran. The region of Luristan in western Iran saw a rich tradition of bronze production in the early part of the first millennium BC. Virtually all the bronzes that have survived come from plundered cemeteries of stone-built graves in the region. These mostly date from between about 1000 and 700 BC. At a number of sites, bronzes were also deposited in shrines.