Pointe de Lance en Bronze, Mao Dynastie des Zhou Orientaux, époque des Royaumes Combattants, ca. VIE-IVE siècle avant J.-C.

en forme de flamme pointue, parcourue des deux côtés d'un large bourrelet central courant jusqu'à une tête de monstre sur chaque face au niveau de la douille, la gueule ouverte formant trous de fixation, les côtés de la lame biseautés, entièrement décorée de motifs de losanges, les bords tranchants laissés lisses, le bronze couvert d'une patine verte, azurite et rouille avec des incrustations, D.W 34/25

Bronzes Chinois des Dynasties Tcheou, T'sin & Han, Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris, 1934, no. 80.
International Exhibition of Chinese Art, London, Royal Academy of Art, November 28, 1935 - March 7th, 1936, cat. no. 175.

O. Janse,'Le Style du Houai et ses Affinités. Notes à propos de quelques Objets de la Collection David-Weill', in Revue des Arts Asiatiques: Annales du Musée Guimet, vol. VIII, no. 3 (1934), pl. LIII:2.
Georges Salles, Bronzes Chinois des Dynasties Tcheou, T'sin & Han, Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris, 1934, cat. no. 80 (not illustrated).
Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, London, 1935-1936, cat. no. 175.
Max Loehr, Chinese Bronze Age Weapons. The Werner Jannings Collections in the Chinese National Palace Museum, Peking, Ann Arbor, 1956, fig. 41 E. 

The x-ray reveals that there is a ca. 2.5cm long crack to the rim and extending upwards into the base of the lance head. On the reverse side, there is a ca. 6cm long break extending from the rim into the side, then extending 7cm diagonally into the rim, and a ca. 5cm long break running diagonally across to the other side with an associated ca. 2x2cm large piece broken out of the pointed base and reattached. The blade is covered with fine azurite encrustations on both sides, the bronze is patinated to a dark tone with some lighter areas. The patina and encrustation are of a darker, more saturated tone than the catalogue illustration suggests. The inventory number 34/25 is inscribed in white on the inside of the base, together with a paper label inscribed in black with D. Weill.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Bronze spear- and lance heads were found in large numbers in richly furnished tombs of the Warring States period in the Huai valley covering a geographical area including parts of present-day Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces, areas associated with the southern kingdoms of Wu, Yue and Chu during the Warring States period. At the time the present lance head from the David-Weill Collection was acquired in 1934, it was reputedly discovered in Shouzhou, Anhui province, see Olof Janse, 'Le style du Houai et sets Affinities. Notes a propos de quelques Objects de la Collection David-Weill', in Revue des Arts Asiatiques: Annales du Musee Guimet, vol. VIII, no. 3 (1934), p. 174. Numerous examples from both museum and private collections are illustrated and analysed by Orvar Karlbeck in,'Selected Objects from Ancient Shou-Chou', in Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, no. 27, 1955, pl. 3:1-14. Karlbeck refers to an identical lance head from the collection of Jean-Pierre Dubosc, illustrated in Jean-Pierre Dubosc, Mostra d'Arte Cinese, Venice, 1954, cat. no. 65.

The grid of intersecting double-lines and diamond-shaped lozenges in a darker coloured metal on the surface of this particular spearhead also appears on a related example now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and has been subject to a technical analysis, compare W. Thomas Chase, Ancient Chinese Bronze Art. Casting the Precious Sacral Vessel, New York, 1991, p. 74.