VIKING AGE SOCKETED IRON SPEAR

C. 800-1100 AD. Viking age. Iron spearhead with broad bevelled leaf-shaped blade and flaring circular socket. Spears were an important component of Viking military equipment as their lightweight nature meant they could be used both in hand-to-hand combat and as a thrown weapon. Cf Petersen, Jan (1919). De Norske Vikingesverd. Kristiania, p. 30, figs. 17-8. Good condition; on a custom-made stand. Size: L:195mm; 120g. Provenance: From the private collection of an Essex gentleman; previously in an old British Collection, formed in the 1980s on the UK / European art markets.