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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1992.256.130
Title
Spearhead or Spear-butt
Classification
Weapons and Ammunition
Work Type
spearhead
Date
15th-13th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Anatolia
Period
Hittite Empire period
Culture
Hittite
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304636

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper
Technique
Cast and hammered
Dimensions
20.4 x 1 cm (8 1/16 x 3/8 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Copper:
Cu, 98.79; Sn, less than 0.25; Pb, less than 0.04; Zn, 0.002; Fe, 0.16; Ni, 0.05; Ag, 0.08; Sb, less than 0.05; As, 0.92; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.01; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Artax 1 and Tracer
Alloy: Copper
Alloying Elements: copper
Other Elements: iron, arsenic
K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina is dark green and features areas of raised lighter green. Some raised brown burial accretions are present. Lighter orange areas are bright metal with pitting below the original surface. Many areas of the surface are very well preserved. The pitted areas where corrosion is lost may be the result of a chemical cleaning procedure.

No evidence of dendrites is present, and no hammer impressions are visible. However, judging solely from the shape, the object was probably cast in a rod shape and then hammered to shape its square cross-section.


Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Louise M. and George E. Bates, Camden, ME (by 1971-1992), gift; to the Harvard University Art Museums, 1992.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Louise M. and George E. Bates
Accession Year
1992
Object Number
1992.256.130
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This point appears to be the tip of a javelin or spear. Its square cross section, however, distinguishes it from the usual spearheads, which have two fins placed at one hundred eighty degrees on either side of a central socket. The four-sided point tapers to the tang (5.0 cm long) at one end, which has a chisel-like tip.

While there are no exact parallels among the published bronze weapon heads from Olympia, examination of Greek helmets and body armor sometimes reveals square punctures that appear to have been inflicted by similar points. However, the large number of similar objects from the citadel and lower city of Hattusa (Boğazköy, Turkey) make it virtually certain that this object dates to the Hittite Empire, c. 1500-1200 BCE (1).

NOTES:

1. Similar cast narrow pointed objects, called either “chisels” or “awls” have been found at Boğazköy; see R. Boehmer, Die Kleinfunde von Boğazköy, Boğazköy-Hattusa 7 (Berlin, 1972) 76, nos. 210-12, 214, 217, and 222-23, pl. 13; and numerous bronze “awls,” 115-17, nos. 936-995A, pls. 32-33, especially nos. 936, 949, 956, 982-83, and 993-95A; and id., Die Kleinfunde aus der Unterstadt von Boğazköy: Grabungskampagnen, 1970-1978, Boğazköy-Hattusa 10 (Berlin, 1979) 9-10, nos. 2586 and 2601, pl. 6 (chisels); and 24-26, nos. 3189-300, pls. 16-17 (awls).


David G. Mitten

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu