17th-18th century
The spearhead consists of two parts. The blade, made of watered steel, features three fullers on each side that run nearly the entire length of the blade. The blade itself is long, thin, and comes to a very sharp, fine point. The blade is welded between two large trefoils at the top of the base. The base is made of a hollowed, single piece of steel that would have been fitted to a wooden haft. It is faceted into nine sections with the top and bottom of each section decorated with trefoils. The trefoils on the bottom are missing gold inlay, while only two at the top are missing it. The top and bottom trefoils flank a long, lobed cartouche shape. The at the bottom of the base on the backside is a small hole that would have held a screw, attaching the spearhead to the haft.
45 cm (17 11/16 in.)
Arsenical copper
3rd millennium BCEAnatolianStone
20th centuryChineselimestone
2nd millennium BCEHurrianLeaded bronze
8th-5th century BCENear EasternBronze with turquoise inlay
14th-11th century BCEChineseMetal with mixed-media scabbard
16th centuryJapaneseBlade: steel with gold-filled incised decoration and inscriptions; handle: braided brass wire over fabric on a wooden core; guard: cast brass and gilt bronze, with profile portrait of Lafayette enframed in draped flags; lion-headed pummel: cast brass with gilt bronze decoration
18th centuryFrenchArsenical copper
3rd millennium BCESyro-HittiteBronze
2nd millennium BCEAnatolianLead
Lead
Wood
Japanese