Provenance: 
Acquired from Douglas Dawson Gallery, Chicago, in the 1990s. 
(accompanied by a signed statement from owner)

Note:
From as early as the Bronze Age to as late as the Migration Period, deformed swords have been found in deposits throughout Europe. It is thought that these swords were deliberately broken or bent before being buried to render them useless in the afterlife. This tradition of ritualistically "killing" the life of a sword started with the Celts and continued into the Viking Age.