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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2012.1.10
Title
Flanged Axe Head
Classification
Weapons and Ammunition
Work Type
axe
Date
3rd-2nd Millennium BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Period
Bronze Age
Culture
European
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/178264

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper alloy
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
9.27 cm (3 5/8 in.)
Technical Details

Technical Observations: The axe head was cast in a bivalve mold. It is covered with a thick, friable, light green patina that has formed into a dendritic structure. It is worn to bare metal on the raised areas and edges. One of the bottom corners is slightly distorted by a blow or fall, which has caused the powdery patina to pop off. There is a large notch in the blade, perhaps a chip, which is otherwise slightly uneven and dulled.


Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2012)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Walton Brooks McDaniel, New Jersey (?-1943/46) gift; to the Department of the Classics, Harvard University, (1943/46-2012) transfer; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2012.

Note: Walton Brooks McDaniel gave a portion of his collection to the Department of the Classics in 1943 and the rest in 1946. The Collection is named for his late wife, Alice Corinne McDaniel.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University
Accession Year
2012
Object Number
2012.1.10
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This flanged axe is elliptical in form. The worn blade is slightly flared, and there is a triangular chip missing from the center. The sides of the handle have low, curved flanges that are wider toward the blade (1). The butt is rounded and flat.

NOTES:

1. Compare A. M. Bietti Sestieri and E. Macnamara, Prehistoric Metal Artefacts from Italy (3500-720 BC) in the British Museum (London, 2007) 36, no. 22, pl. 4.


Lisa M. Anderson

Publication History

  • John Crawford, Sidney Goldstein, George M. A. Hanfmann, John Kroll, Judith Lerner, Miranda Marvin, Charlotte Moore, and Duane Roller, Objects of Ancient Daily Life. A Catalogue of the Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection Belonging to the Department of the Classics, Harvard University, ed. Jane Waldbaum, Department of the Classics (unpublished manuscript, 1970), M182, p. 208 [J. S. Crawford]

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