Ancient Near East, ca. 2nd to 1st millennium BCE. A stunning and solid cast-bronze spear head of a slender form with a stocky handle body and a thick tang with a flanged terminal. The elongated head boasts a petaloid form with a prominent crested midrib which becomes integral with the handle, sharpened edges, and a pointed tip. The composition exhibits lustrous layers of brown, green, and russet patina, and thick swaths of gorgeous azurite patina imbue the composition with a pop of color. Size: 2.1" W x 14.1" H (5.3 cm x 35.8 cm); 15.5" H (39.4 cm) on included custom stand.
For a stylistically-similar example of a slightly shorter spearhead in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 61.261.2: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/325359
Exhibited and published in catalogue for "Dressed to Kill in Love and War: Splendor in the Ancient World" (February 1 - March 31, 2019 - Academy Museum, Easton, Maryland, USA, p. 11, fig. 38, discussion on p. 2).
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; Exhibited and published in catalogue for "Dressed to Kill in Love and War: Splendor in the Ancient World" (February 1 - March 31, 2019 - Academy Museum, Easton, Maryland, USA, p. 11, fig. 38, discussion on p. 2); ex-private Texas, USA collection, acquired in the 1980s
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#146246
Condition
Minor nicks to blade faces and edges, with very slight bending to overall form, and light encrustations, otherwise intact and excellent. Light earthen deposits as well as fabulous brown, green, and azurite patina throughout.