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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1920.44.4
Title
Flanged Axe Head
Classification
Weapons and Ammunition
Work Type
axe
Date
16th-13th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Period
Bronze Age
Culture
European
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303655

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
7.2 cm (2 13/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 87.83; Sn, 7.3; Pb, 3.87; Zn, 0.32; Fe, 0.17; Ni, 0.01; Ag, 0.03; Sb, 0.24; As, 0.24; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.01; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is a smooth green with some spots of red cuprite. The axe head has losses at both ends, which are corroded and therefore must have occurred before burial. Surface losses reveal a very uneven and pitted metallic surface.

The axe head was cast in two pours of metal. Due to the corrosion process, the seam where the second pour of metal was applied to the first has become visible. The sides were shaped further by hammering, probably with annealing.


Carol Snow (submitted 2002)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Miss Elizabeth Gaskell Norton, Boston, MA and Miss Margaret Norton, Cambridge, MA (by 1920), gift; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1920.

Note: The Misses Norton were daughters of Charles Elliot Norton (1827-1908).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Misses Norton
Accession Year
1920
Object Number
1920.44.4
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
Only one end of this axe head is preserved, possibly the butt rather than the blade end. There are low flanges on the sides. Although the preserved end is also chipped, it is possible that it is part of an intentional notch, as is seen on other complete axe heads (1).

The fragmentary nature of the axe head means that it is difficult to assign it to a particular type or region. The general form falls within the European Bronze Age (2).

NOTES:

1. Compare M.-B. Chardenoux et J.-C. Courtois, Les haches dans la France méridionale, Prähistorische Bronzefunde 9.11 (Munich, 1979) 17, fig. 2.b, with examples on pl. 14.

2. See, for example, M.-B. Chardenoux et J.-C. Courtois 1979 (supra 1) pls. 7-31; F. Laux, Die Äxte und Beile in Niedersachsen 1 (Flach-, Randleisten- und Absatzbeile), Prähistorische Bronzefunde 9.23 (Stuttgart, 2000) pls. 2-21; K. Pászthory and E. F. Mayer, Die Äxte und Beile in Bayern, Prähistorische Bronzefunde 9.20 (Stuttgart, 1998) pls. 3-23.


Lisa M. Anderson

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu