Details

LOT 0268

Large Mesopotamian Bronze Spearhead Inscribed: 'Belonging to the Palace of Ipiq-Adad' a King of the city Eshnunna

2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.

14 1/8 in. (260 grams, 36 cm).

Rectangular-section tapering body with a short tang with cuneiform text to one side translating to: '(belonging to) the Palace of Ipiq-Adad'.

Provenance

UK private collection before 2000.
Acquired on the UK art market.
Private collection, London, UK.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13259-253470.

Literature

Cf. Gernez, G., L’armament en métal au Proche et Moyen-Orient: des origines a 1750 av. J.C., Paris, 2007, fig.2.82, subtypes L1A.a, for the type.

Footnotes

There were three kings of the name Ipiq-Adad, kings of the city Eshnunna in the Diyala region of Mesopotamia in the early Old Babylonian period. Eshnunna was an ancient Sumerian (and later Akkadian) city and city-state 12.6 miles northwest of Tell Agrab​. Although situated in the Diyala Valley northwest of Sumer proper, the city nonetheless belonged securely within the Sumerian cultural milieu. Ipiq-Adad II was the son of Ibal-pi-el I, king of Eshnunna. Upon his ascent, he used the title ensi; later in his reign, he shifted to describing himself as lugal (king). He was the first ruler of Eshnunna to use the term lugal since Shu-iliya. Inscriptions also refer to him as ​'king who enlarges Eshnunna​', ​'shepherd of the black-headed people​', and ​'king of the universe​'. He oversaw a great expansion of the state and laid the foundation for Eshnunna to become a regional power.

The spearhead belongs to the category of bipartite pikes (Gernez classification L 1.A.a). It is the simplest category of spearheads. The butt consisted solely of a widening located at the junction between the point and the tang. The tang was inserted into the handle up to the butt. The wood, split and/or hollowed out to allow for the passage of the tang, was then secured with a cord or strap wrapped around it, probably up to the base of the blade, thus ensuring its stability.