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Old 19th March 2023, 05:40 AM   #1
JeffS
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Default Spear ID

Anyone recognize this style? 39.5 cm OAL. Heavy duty tang.
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Old 19th March 2023, 06:07 AM   #2
Battara
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Kind of looks Indonesian to me, maybe Borneo, but shorter than usual. The base also looks a little Chinese, but I could be wrong.
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Old 19th March 2023, 08:25 PM   #3
Ian
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Hi Jeff,

Judging from the heavy construction of the blade and tang, this one could be a lance head. It looks as though it has been around for a while and has been used a lot. Nice piece.

I don't recognize the style.
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Old 20th March 2023, 05:13 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian View Post
Hi Jeff,

Judging from the heavy construction of the blade and tang, this one could be a lance head. It looks as though it has been around for a while and has been used a lot. Nice piece.

I don't recognize the style.
Interesting. Would that limit origin geographically? We don't often discuss mounted combat in SE Asia
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Old 20th March 2023, 07:06 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffS View Post
Interesting. Would that limit origin geographically? We don't often discuss mounted combat in SE Asia
I think that it is of South-East-Asian origin.

Regards,
Detlef
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Old 21st March 2023, 06:20 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffS View Post
Interesting. Would that limit origin geographically? We don't often discuss mounted combat in SE Asia
I don't know the answer to that question Jeff.

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Name:  jeffsSpear detail.png
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In looking further at your spear head, I notice that it has some old damage to the blade. In a blow up of your picture, I see a piece missing on the bottom edge (arrowed). There is a crack in the steel which may have been a forging flaw or caused by contact. I think I can see evidence of lamination elsewhere also. This appears to be a laminated blade with some age—at least late 19th C., maybe earlier.


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Last edited by Ian; 21st March 2023 at 09:24 AM.
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Old 21st March 2023, 06:26 PM   #7
DavidFriedman
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Could it be a Vietnamese specimen?
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Old 21st March 2023, 06:34 PM   #8
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Notice the similar concentric ring design on the collar, and obviously, the SE Asian tang, found on this Nguyen dynasty Vietnamese Snake/hook lance.


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I don't know the answer to that question Jeff.

.
Attachment 225401


In looking further at your spear head, I notice that it has some old damage to the blade. In a blow up of your picture, I see a piece missing on the bottom edge (arrowed). There is a crack in the steel which may have been a forging flaw or caused by contact. I think I can see evidence of lamination elsewhere also. This appears to be a laminated blade with some age—at least late 19th C., maybe earlier.


.
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Old 22nd March 2023, 04:23 AM   #9
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Hi DavidF,

That looks a fairly good match. As Battara noted earlier, there is a "Chinese feel" to this piece, and that would fit with a Viet provenance during the Nguyen Dynasty.
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Old 22nd March 2023, 04:27 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian View Post
In looking further at your spear head, I notice that it has some old damage to the blade. In a blow up of your picture, I see a piece missing on the bottom edge (arrowed). There is a crack in the steel which may have been a forging flaw or caused by contact.
I was assuming all the cracks were cold shuts, but the area you point out is cracked on both sides and the profile slightly distorted at that location. Thank you for pointing that out.
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Old 22nd March 2023, 04:38 AM   #11
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Thanks Jeff, the extra pics show that this is indeed a laminated blade. The cracked edge looks very much the result of of a heavy blow from a sharp, heavy edged weapon. The edge has been ground back subsequently to smooth out the deficit in the blade. This is a gnarly old weapon that has seen heavy action. Someone thought it was worth repairing the edge and putting it back into service. Nice old piece.
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Old 22nd March 2023, 09:08 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidFriedman View Post
Notice the similar concentric ring design on the collar, and obviously, the SE Asian tang, found on this Nguyen dynasty Vietnamese Snake/hook lance.
Interesting. I've also noted that Sumatran spears sometimes have a similar collar as well.
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Old 22nd March 2023, 11:11 AM   #13
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Does Jeff's piece have any relation with this one? .
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Old 22nd March 2023, 01:07 PM   #14
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Hi Fernando. Hard to say, I think. Both heads are of a fairly basic shape that works well and is found widely. We don't have a shaft for Jeff's piece, so no clues there.
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Old 22nd March 2023, 07:11 PM   #15
Maj-Biffy Snodgrass
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Default my 2 pennies worth.

BATAK LANCE 19thc.
as here
With de laminations due to age not necessarily battle damage, although could be damage through use-battle.

https://www.quaibranly.fr/fr/explore.../1460-lance;):)
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Old 23rd March 2023, 11:57 AM   #16
Gavin Nugent
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maj-Biffy Snodgrass View Post
BATAK LANCE 19thc.
as here
With de laminations due to age not necessarily battle damage, although could be damage through use-battle.

https://www.quaibranly.fr/fr/explore.../1460-lance;):)
Sumatra to my eye too.
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Old 23rd March 2023, 11:59 AM   #17
Ian
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maj-Biffy Snodgrass View Post
BATAK LANCE 19thc.
as here
With de laminations due to age not necessarily battle damage, although could be damage through use-battle.

https://www.quaibranly.fr/fr/explore.../1460-lance;):)
Hi BS,

Yes, there are a number of possible candidates. The pics in the link are not high quality. I've reproduced them here for our records. As can be seen, the blade and bolster are different from the OP.


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Old 23rd March 2023, 02:19 PM   #18
Maj-Biffy Snodgrass
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Hi Ian, the spear head Jeffs shows is certainly very much akin to the lance sown in your enlarged pics, one thinks also that due to size it is likely a lance head rather than a spear head, there are in fact a number of old b+w pics from the old days that are showing such lances in the hands of Batak warriors on line, sadly at present one is still learning to navigate the site, have not yet learned to add pics. snoddy
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