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Spear Thrower
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Spear throwers improve a spear's range and thrust. The spear was placed against the stone pivot and hurled using the thumb rest, carved as a figure with a skeletal chest, back-bent head, and a severed human head at its rear. This figure, frequent in art, is not well understood, but its appearance here suggests a connection to death. The shaft's carving makes clever use of the bone's marrow cavity.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineSpear Thrower, 200 BCE–200 CE. Peru, South Coast, late Paracas or early Nasca style. Bone, hematite, cotton thread, sinew; overall: 5.8 x 2 cm (2 5/16 x 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Norweb Collection, 1940.507
