Large Stone Age Acheulean Ovate Flint Handaxe

LOWER PALAEOLITHIC PERIOD, CIRCA 600,000-350,000 B.P.

6 7/8 in. (719 grams, 17.5 cm without stand).

Substantial and well-made handaxe with thick butt and rounded cutting edge; marked 'St Même FR'; likely made by Homo heidelbergensis; mounted on a custom-made display stand.

Provenance

From the well-regarded, long-closed quarry site of St Meme, Charente, France.
From an old large French collection.
Acquired on the European art market.
From a UK private collection.

Literature

Cf. MacGregor, A. (ed.), Antiquities from Europe and the Near East in the Collection of Lord McAlpine of West Green, Oxford, 1987, item 1.10, for type.

Footnotes

Smaller handaxes continued as components of Middle Palaeolithic industries (Acheulian and Mousterian) associated with Neanderthal and Homo sapiens.

CONDITION

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LOT 0262