Iron Age Monumental Bronze Spear Butt - 45 cm (No reserve price)

Middle Eastern Monumental Bronze Spear Butt – Early Iron Age – 45 cm

Culture: Middle Eastern
Period: Early Iron Age
Date: Early 1st millennium BC, circa 10th–7th century BC
Material: Bronze
Object: Spear butt / counterpoise
Length: 45 cm
Weight: 498 g

Description

An exceptionally large and heavy bronze spear butt or counterpoise from ancient middle eastern, dating to the Early Iron Age.

The object consists of a long, massive body of predominantly quadrangular section, progressively tapering towards the terminal point. At the opposite end it expands into a substantial hollow cylindrical socket, pierced transversely for attachment to the original wooden shaft.

This distinctive construction identifies the object as the lower terminal or counterpoise of a spear, designed to protect and reinforce the lower end of the wooden shaft and potentially allowing the weapon to be planted into the ground.

The combination of a tapering square-section body, cylindrical hollow socket and transverse attachment hole is characteristic of a documented family of North-West bronze spear butts of the Early Iron Age.

The unusually substantial dimensions of the present example are particularly noteworthy: at 45 cm in length and 498 g, it belongs to the larger examples of this class of weapon fitting.

Published parallels include specimens approximately 31–35 cm long formerly in the Axel Guttmann Collection, as well as a large example measuring approximately 52 cm, demonstrating the considerable dimensional range of this weapon type.

The surface preserves extensive archaeological patination in varying shades of green and brown, together with oxidation, mineral deposits, encrustations and irregular surface wear consistent with age. The interior of the socket also preserves deposits and oxidation.

Comparisons and bibliography

O. W. Muscarella, Bronze and Iron: Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1988, p. 392, nos. 518–519.

Comparable North-West Persian bronze spear butts are characterised by a square-section tapering body and hollow cylindrical socket pierced for attachment to the wooden shaft.

Christie's has published closely related North-West Persian examples dated to the early 1st millennium BC, including a large spear butt measuring approximately 52 cm.

Further examples formerly belonging to the Axel Guttmann Collection, measuring approximately 31–35 cm, have been dated circa 800–600 BC.

Attribution note

The attribution to North-Western Iran is based on typological comparison with published examples. The object does not have a documented archaeological findspot and should therefore not be understood as coming from a specific excavated site.

It was originally catalogued by the auction house within the general middle Eastern bronze tradition. More specific typological comparison supports classification within the broader North-West spear-butt tradition.

Condition: Archaeological condition with extensive ancient patina, oxidation, mineral deposits, encrustations and surface wear. Please refer carefully to the photographs, which form an integral part of the description.