Ca. 1200-700 BC. Western Asiatic/Aegean. A bronze spear with an elongated leaf-shaped blade with a raised midrib, sharpened edges that taper gradually to a pointed tip, short socket, and a tang for insertion into a haft. Good condition, beautiful patina; custom-made stand 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 University Press, Oxford, 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. Size: L:130mm / W:27mm ; 31g. Provenance: Property of an Oxfordshire art professional; previously in an old British collection, formed in the 1980s on the UK / International art markets.