Ca. 1200–700 BC. Western Asiatic/Aegean. A bronze spearhead with an elongated leaf-shaped blade and barbs, wide raised midrib, and a short socket with linear decoration that transitions into a small tang for insertion into a haft; a custom-made stand is included. Bronze weaponry production flourished in Western Asia, the Aegean, and mainland Greece from the 2nd millennium BC to about 700 BC, when it was gradually replaced by iron. Swords, spears, and arrows were important symbols of war in Greek Bronze Age societies and served as powerful reminders that authority rested in the hands of those who could earn it. For more information, see Moorey, P. R. S. (1971). Catalogue of the Ancient Persian Bronzes in the Ashmolean Museum. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 88- 89 & Muscarella, O. W. (1988). Bronze and Iron: Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 103-104. Provenance: Property of a North London gentleman; previously acquire on the UK/European art market in the 1970s Size: L:159mm / W:28mm ; 40g