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LOT 1986
African Stone Age Homo Habilis Oldowan Stone Chopper
OLDOWAN PERIOD, CIRCA 2,600,000-1,700,000 B.P.
5 in. (490 grams, 12.7 cm).
Lentoid in section and an irregular rectangle in plan with a smoothed handgrip to the rear; old faded collector's label. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the Sahara.
Ex old German collection formed in the 1970s.
Purchased on the European art market.
Oldowan tools are the oldest known stone tool industry, dating from approximately 2.6 to 1.7 million years ago (with some evidence at 2.9 Ma). Primarily associated with Homo habilis, these simple tools (choppers, flakes, hammerstones) were used for cutting, scraping, and butchering. They were largely found in East Africa, with key sites at Olduvai Gorge. Made from quartzite with minimal removals to form a direct chopping edge.
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AUCTIONS:
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British Stone Age Knapped Flint Handaxe from the Thames Valley
Lower Palaeolithic Period, circa 550,000-300,000 B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Thin cordate form with a deep autumnal glossy patina; with an old collector's note 'Achulean Handaxes of the Lower Palaeolithic Period. Age 250,000-100,000 BC. Flint: occurs in chalk 80,000,000.' 94 grams, 87 mm
Found Thames Valley, UK, on 3rd of April 1960. Accompanied by an original, old handwritten note. Acquired on the UK art market. From a private collection in the 2020s. -
Stone Age Barbed and Tanged Arrowhead Collection
Neolithic Period, 6th-4th millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Comprising mostly bifacial and uniface barbed and tanged flint and chert arrowheads; probably from the Sahara region of North Africa. 105 grams total, 22-37 mm
UK gallery, early 2000s.
Similar specimens of arrowheads have been found in the Eastern Sahara Region of Abu Tartur Plateau. Most of the arrowheads came from the El Jarar Neolithic, c. 7700-7300 B.P. (c.6500-6100 B.C.). Other parallels occur in the region of Kharga Oasis. -
French Stone Age Knapped Flint Burin
Gravettian Period, circa 33,000-21,000 B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Slender and pointed with facets to the outer face. 4.95 grams, 78.34 mm
From Le Groze - Du Tay. Acquired in the 1970s-1990s. From the collection of the famous UK musician and amateur archaeologist, Victor Brox (1941-2023). Acquired on the UK art market at auction after being sold by Mr Brox’s family. From the private collection of an East Anglian, UK, specialist collector.
The Burin is a characteristic lithic tool of the Gravettian period.
