Skip to main content

Spear butt spike: O.55-1879

Object information

Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Maker: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Small square section spike with recessed faces, attached by a moulded knop to a small socket with a braze line down one side, a reinforce at the end decorated with double incised lines and a series of file cut nicks at the end, and decorated with spirals in double incised lines bordered with double incised lines at either end. A fragment of the original wooden haft survives. The surface is polished bright, with some pitting from its earlier corrosion, and some staining

Notes

History note: Probably from the Tanjore armoury, broken up in 1860 (see documentation Elgood 2004)

Legal notes

Given by Robert Taylor, MA

Measurements and weight

Blade Length: 8.2 cm
Overall Length: 19.5 cm
Socket Length: 8 cm
Weight: 126 g

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1879) by Taylor, Robert, MA

Dating

17th Century#
Circa 1600 CE - 1700 CE

Note

Decoration matches the small spearhead O.44.1879; they may be parts of the same spear.

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: 55
  • Method of creation: Inscribed
  • Type: Tag

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: O.55-1879
Primary reference Number: 158365
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 25 February 2020 Last processed: Thursday 7 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Spear butt spike" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/158365 Accessed: 2024-12-27 19:45:01

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/158365 |title=Spear butt spike |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-27 19:45:01|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-158365

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...