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Spearhead: ML.1-1992

An image of Spearhead

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Maker: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Bronze spear head with a green patina, and mineral preserved organics in the socket. The blade appears as the tongue projecting from the jaws of a crocodile; possibly the gharial (Gavialis Gangeticus), commonly found in India and Burma. On the top of the head there is a rectangular projection pierced by a circular hole, and on each side of the socket there is a circular hole

Oval label printed in black with a tower and 'Malcolm Collection', inscribed in blue black ink 'A.2'

The edges of the blade and its tip are chipped, and there is a large chip in the socket.

Notes

History note: Major General Sir Neil Malcolm

Legal notes

Lent to the museum by Helen H. L. Whittow (nee Malcolm)

Measurements and weight

Length: 18 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Loan (1992) by Whittow, Helen H. L. (nee Malcolm)

Dating

Han Dynasty (BC 206 - AD 220)
Production date: AD 0220 : Han Dynasty, or earlier

Materials used in production

Bronze

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: ML.1-1992
Primary reference Number: 206797
A.2
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Wednesday 16 September 2015 Updated: Wednesday 18 December 2024 Last processed: Saturday 22 March 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: External
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

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

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Spearhead" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/206797 Accessed: 2025-12-06 04:15:57

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/206797 |title=Spearhead |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-06 04:15:57|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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