colettion of spears

VanVren · 21st October 2014, 06:31 AM

Hello I have collection of spear that in this form allegedly grouped uncle of my friend sometime at the beginning of the last century. I do not know what countries were brought. I beg you, who is adept in the field of identifying these spears. Interested me in particular their origin and at least approximate age. These are the nine pieces spears. I'm not sure if all of them are all complete. Thank you so much for every comment what tells me something about them.

LJ · 22nd October 2014, 10:27 PM

No spear expert has jumped in, so here are my thoughts. I could be wrong, and I would be happy if somebody can offer better identifications.

First question: which continent ? Most of them look African (except numbers 8 and 9). As a rough guess, East Africa ... maybe from Kenya to the Horn of Africa. The hollows in the middle of the blade of Number 4 suggest it is Somali, and I think number 1 could be from the Horn of Africa also. I'm not so sure about the others.

The only other examples I've seen similar to number 8 had me puzzled for a while. At first I thought they were the "wrong way round", since some spears have a heavy iron point at the bottom end. Then I realised these spikes were really on the top end. The examples I saw all had ARAKAN written on the shaft, suggesting they were from Burma. So Southeast Asia could be the origin of Number 8.

This leaves number 9. I've never seen anything like it. My first thought would be Southeast Asia, possibly India.

As for date. If I had to guess I would say late 1800s to early 1900s, possibly a bit earlier for some of the spears.

One way of finding the origin could be to look at the wooden shafts. You often find that old collectors wrote a locality, but you might have to examine the shaft for several minutes before you start to see faint letters. Then you might see, for instance B E A [meaning 'British East Africa']

josh stout · 25th October 2014, 12:42 AM

Number eight appears to be a Chinese lance. Similar examples are not too uncommon. Number nine could be from anywhere with Chinese influence and a dramatic flair. South East Asia is quite likely with Vietnam a very likely possibility. The others all look African to me.

junker · 25th October 2014, 12:00 PM

I collecting spears myself and would put them to an african origin as well, but I have problems with number 4, which I like best. It seems to have a higher quality.
In my opinion the items will not come from central africa but maybe from the east coast all around first half of the 20th century. The spike like spearpoint has as well influence fron cameroon.
Number 9 is an exception and looks like a very modern variant of e fishing spear.

alle the best with your collection
Dirk

colin henshaw · 2nd November 2014, 12:28 PM

I would attribute the following :-

No. 1 - Northern Nigeria/Cameroon
No. 2 - Somalia/Horn of Africa
No. 4 - Somalia/Horn of Africa
No. 7 - Northern Nigeria/Cameroon

Regarding the others, please post images of the spears full-length, also close-ups of the butt ends.

It should also be noted that there is a strong resemblance between some Madagascar and Northern Nigeria/Cameroon spears.

21st October 2014, 06:31 AM	#1
VanVren Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 1	colettion of spears Hello I have collection of spear that in this form allegedly grouped uncle of my friend sometime at the beginning of the last century. I do not know what countries were brought. I beg you, who is adept in the field of identifying these spears. Interested me in particular their origin and at least approximate age. These are the nine pieces spears. I'm not sure if all of them are all complete. Thank you so much for every comment what tells me something about them. Attached Images

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22nd October 2014, 10:27 PM	#2
LJ Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 93	No spear expert has jumped in, so here are my thoughts. I could be wrong, and I would be happy if somebody can offer better identifications. First question: which continent ? Most of them look African (except numbers 8 and 9). As a rough guess, East Africa ... maybe from Kenya to the Horn of Africa. The hollows in the middle of the blade of Number 4 suggest it is Somali, and I think number 1 could be from the Horn of Africa also. I'm not so sure about the others. The only other examples I've seen similar to number 8 had me puzzled for a while. At first I thought they were the "wrong way round", since some spears have a heavy iron point at the bottom end. Then I realised these spikes were really on the top end. The examples I saw all had ARAKAN written on the shaft, suggesting they were from Burma. So Southeast Asia could be the origin of Number 8. This leaves number 9. I've never seen anything like it. My first thought would be Southeast Asia, possibly India. As for date. If I had to guess I would say late 1800s to early 1900s, possibly a bit earlier for some of the spears. One way of finding the origin could be to look at the wooden shafts. You often find that old collectors wrote a locality, but you might have to examine the shaft for several minutes before you start to see faint letters. Then you might see, for instance B E A [meaning 'British East Africa']

25th October 2014, 12:42 AM	#3
josh stout Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 407	Number eight appears to be a Chinese lance. Similar examples are not too uncommon. Number nine could be from anywhere with Chinese influence and a dramatic flair. South East Asia is quite likely with Vietnam a very likely possibility. The others all look African to me.

25th October 2014, 12:00 PM	#4
junker Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 140	I collecting spears myself and would put them to an african origin as well, but I have problems with number 4, which I like best. It seems to have a higher quality. In my opinion the items will not come from central africa but maybe from the east coast all around first half of the 20th century. The spike like spearpoint has as well influence fron cameroon. Number 9 is an exception and looks like a very modern variant of e fishing spear. alle the best with your collection Dirk

2nd November 2014, 12:28 PM	#5
colin henshaw Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,430	I would attribute the following :- No. 1 - Northern Nigeria/Cameroon No. 2 - Somalia/Horn of Africa No. 4 - Somalia/Horn of Africa No. 7 - Northern Nigeria/Cameroon Regarding the others, please post images of the spears full-length, also close-ups of the butt ends. It should also be noted that there is a strong resemblance between some Madagascar and Northern Nigeria/Cameroon spears.