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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1968.111
Title
Shaft-Hole Axe Head
Classification
Weapons and Ammunition
Work Type
axe
Date
22nd-21st century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Iran
Period
Bronze Age, Early
Culture
Iranian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/281914

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
6.5 x 14 cm (2 9/16 x 5 1/2 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Bronze:
Cu, 86.57; Sn, 12.44; Pb, 0.05; Zn, 0.003; Fe, 0.02; Ni, 0.02; Ag, 0.08; Sb, 0.05; As, 0.77; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.005; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: A crust of green corrosion and burial deposits cover most of the surface, and there are a few areas of exposed smooth green, red, black, and brown substrate. The object is intact. The axe head was cast. Two rectangular crossbars are present inside the shaft behind the blade.


Carol Snow (submitted 2002)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Richard R. Wagner, gift; to the Fogg Museum, 1968.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Richard R. Wagner
Accession Year
1968
Object Number
1968.111
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
The shaft hole of this axe head has flared lips at the top and bottom, although one end is flat and the other forms a diagonal (1). There is a raised seam along the exterior back of the shaft. Inside the shaft hole are two circular-sectioned rods, which cross each other at right angles to form an X-shape inside the shaft hole when viewed from above (the rods do not make contact with each other). There are no marks on the outside showing that the rods are separate components affixed to the shaft hole, so they must be part of the casting. The blade emerges from the front of the shaft hole with slight curves on the top and bottom. The blade tapers and flattens as it approaches the convex edge. The blade is not sharp, and there are no signs of use.

NOTES:

1. Compare R. Dussaud, “Haches a douille de type asiatique,” Syria 11.3 (1930): 245-71, esp. 247, figs. 3-4; and R. Maxwell-Hyslop, “Western Asiatic Shaft-Hole Axes,” Iraq 11.1 (1949): 90-129, esp. 92-93, pl. 34.5-8.

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