French Stone Age Mousterian Knapped Flint Bifacial Handaxe

Biconvex in section with narrow butt, curved cutting edge, cortex to butt; old inked legend 'F[.] / Whitmoor Common Worplesdon / 17-6-51'. 310 grams, 13 cm



Found Worplesdon, Surrey, UK, on 17th June 1951. From the collection of Haselmere Parish Priest, Charles Borelli (c.1914-2000) of Farnham; who was part of the Borelli family from Italy who emigrated from Lake Como in 1828 to set up the Borelli family watch and jewellery business; thence by family descent to his nephew.

Farnham district is one of the most interesting prehistoric regions in England, and has been visited by a succession of prehistoric peoples from Palaeolithic times onwards. Along the southern slope of the Farnham valley are three gravel terraces, which are famous prehistorically and have yielded large quantities of flint implements and bones of prehistoric animals, notably the mammoth. In prehistoric times, the chalk deposits played an important role in attracting settlers, as they contained rich layers of flint nodules used to make implements. The Farnham Gravels have been an abundant source of Palaeolithic finds, most prominent being hand axes. The axes differ in type, and each type is associated with a cultural phase of the Palaeolithic period. Types similar to these are found in similar deposits in the Somme valley and in many English valley gravels. Flint mining was also carried out by the Neolithic folk. Polished axes and leaf forms, arrowheads and knives, or possibly lance heads, are characteristic of the Neolithic flint work.

Lozenge-shaped body with an old handwritten label 'Villambard'. 1.87 grams, 28 mm



From France. Acquired in the 1970s-1990s. From the collections of the famous UK musician and amateur archaeologist, Victor Brox (1941-2023). Acquired on the UK art market in the 2020s. From a private collection.

A substantial flint core or so-called 'Livre de Beurre' with vertical traces of blows on the work side, including one pronounced blade negative extending half way along the stone’s length; cortex remains and core preparation traces on other side; proximal end with impact surface, distal end with rounded point; two bifacial wave to chevron-shaped core edges; flat-prismatic cross-section; raw material for blade production, beige stone (silex) with yellow undertone, cream-coloured patches and spots, slightly shiny surface (origin: Le Grand Pressigny, Dép. Indre-et-Loire, France); old collector's label 'N13310'; supplied with a custom-made stand. 2.62 kg, 30.5 cm (3.79 kg total, 37.5 cm including stand)



Private collection, B.G., Southwest France. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate no.S00127506.