ANCIENT BRONZE SPEARHEAD
Western Asiatic/Aegean, Ca. 1200-700 BC.
A bronze spear with a slender blade with barbs, raised midrib, bevelled edges that taper to a pointed tip, short socket, and a short tang for insertion into a haft. Good condition, beautiful patina. Bronze weaponry production flourished in Western Asia, the Aegean, and mainland Greece from the 2nd millennium BC to about 700 BC, when it was gradually replaced by iron. Swords, spears, and arrows were important symbols of war in Greek Bronze Age societies and served as powerful reminders that authority rested in the hands of those who could earn it. Cf. Muscarella, Oscar White, Bronze and Iron: Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1988, item 399, p.290.
Size: L:165mm / W:25mm ; 30g
Provenance: Private London collection since the 1990.
Estimate: GBP 75 - 150