Luristan Bronze Spearhead with Rat-Tail Tang

£ 450.00

A fine Luristan bronze spearhead, featuring a leaf-shaped blade that curves upwards to a point. The blade displays rounded shoulders and a raised, wide, central midrib. The midrib leads downwards towards a short, flattened stem, which flares out slightly before narrowing into a tapering, square-sectioned tang. The tang is turned upwards, creating a ‘rat-tail’ effect. This tang would have been inserted into a wooden shaft, with the ‘rat-tail’ design reducing further splitting upon use.

Date: Circa 1200-600 BC
Provenance: Ex London collection of weapons, 1990s-2010s.
Condition: Fine condition. A beautiful dark patina to the surface. This piece has been professionally cleaned. Signs of wear as consistent with its age, such as chips to the edges of the blade, as well as minor surface scratches and pitting.
SKU: NES-195 Categories: , Tags: ,

Luristan bronze comes from the province of Lorestan, renowned in antiquity for its sophisticated metal working techniques. Due to the nomadic nature of the populations that settled in the area, none of the Luristan bronzes were of great size, since it was required for them to be light and portable. Excavated items most often included weapons, tools, vessels and finials, but ornamental pieces such as amulets, fittings and jewellery such as pins or bracelets also feature in the material record. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Luristan bronze objects often served ceremonial functions given their funerary contexts, and there are recurring artistic motifs of flora and fauna and the human relationship to each throughout their work.

To learn more about Luristan culture and metallurgy, please see our relevant blog post: Ancient Luristan and the Luristan Bronzes

Weight 232.8 g
Dimensions L 34.4 x W 4.9 cm
Region

Near East (Western Asiatic)

Metal

Bronze

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