Description:

Northern Europe, Viking, ca. 9th to 11th century CE. A fierce iron socketed spear head with a long, leaf-shaped blade and conical socket. The socket is bisected by a single rivet hole where a nail would have attached it to a wooden pole of considerable size. Although we do not know exactly how long Viking spears were because the wooden handles degraded over time, we do have a story from the Fostbroedra Saga ("The Saga of the Sworn Brothers") where Gautr's men run out of firewood while cooking dinner, so Gautr enters the fierce warrior Thorgeir's tent and breaks up his spear shaft and shield to use as firewood. That suggests that the spear handle was quite large. Thorgeir kills Gautr with an axe in revenge, demonstrating the importance of a Viking warrior's spear! Size: 1.55" W x 11.1" H (3.9 cm x 28.2 cm); 11.55" H (29.3 cm) on included custom stand.

Provenance: private Fort Collins, Colorado, USA collection

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#148054

  • Condition: Small losses from the edges and tip, with a loss from the upper part of the socket. Despite this, the form is in great shape for an item of this age and material.

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August 6, 2019 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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