CIRCA 8TH-7TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

A VILLANOVAN BRONZE SPEAR HEAD
CIRCA 8TH-7TH CENTURY B.C.
12 ¾ in. (32.4 cm.) high

Provenance

Nicolas Koutoulakis (1910-1996), Paris and Geneva; thence by descent to the present owner.

Special notice

This lot is offered without reserve. These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

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Lot Essay

Bronze spear-heads, together with other types of weaponry and armour, formed the most prized possessions of Villanovan and Etruscan aristocratic warriors. In death, these were included as part of the votive offerings placed in the tomb as a reflection of a warrior’s rank and importance. This spear-head has a tubular socket with two opposite holes for fastening to a wooden shaft. It is decorated with hatched triangles incised along the edges of the blade and shaft, with an off-set collar of incised rope pattern at the end. Cf. p. 88, no. 105, in I. Jucker, Italy of the Etruscans, Mainz, 1991., for the same type.

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