RARE Sinhalese Spear Head Patisthanaya 19thC Ceylon Sri Lanka Pole Axe Halbeard type weapon

This is a rare and delightful work of art from around 150 years ago.

It is a Sinhalese spearhead with a wavy edge and hollow socket where it would have been mounted onto a long pole.

You can see a very similar wavy edge spearhead in the photograph of Kandyan Chiefs. This may have been a ceremonial spearhead as it would have appeared golden when it was first made in the 19th century.

You will find many Sinalhese daggers/knives but spear-heads are rarer.
The wavy edge is rarer when compared to the straight edged Sinhalese spearheads – see images of the various types from a journal article printed in 1942. In that image, there are ten types of spearhead shown out of which only three have a wavy edge.

The wavy edge is based on the keris (or kris) made in Indonesia and Malaysia. The keris shape spread across the entire region of South-East Asia over the centuries.

The beautiful birds that look like peacocks are actually ”Hamsa” birds: this type of mythical bird associated with the swan or goose appears in many South-East Asian cultures, known in Buddhism and Hinduism.
In Buddhism, the Hamsa birds are sacred and seen as a symbol of wisdom.

I have located a similar Sinhalese brass spearhead on eBay which has a straight edged blade and the Hamsa birds are facing each other whereas the one I am offering has the birds facing AWAY from one another. The straight edged one is being offered for around GBP£600 (including shipping).

This amazing artefact is 360mm (L) x 115mm (W) and at the thinnest section is only around 2mm thick. It weighs around 355g.

The blade is wonderfully shaped and in original untouched condition as shown with some minor blemishes and the socket has been filled with some heavy substance. It could be removed quite easily and then this would look amazing mounted onto a marble base.

There are some minor dents to one side of the socket as shown but this is a rare piece and the overall condition is remarkable. On one side, particularly around the birds, there is some light green patina (verdigris) and minor nicks in one area of the blade.

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