Luristan Bronze Axehead

12TH-11TH CENTURY B.C.

8 5/8 in. (390 grams, 22 cm).

A spike-butted axehead with a short cylindrical socket with four furrowed ribs leading to four short spikes, blade with curved upper and lower edges and a convex cutting edge.

Provenance

Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.

Literature

Cf. Moorey, P.R.S., Catalogue of the ancient Persian Bronzes in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1971, pl.2, nos.14-16, items 51-52; cf. also Musee' Cernuschi, Bronzes de Luristan, enigmes de l'Iran Ancien, IIIe-Ier millenaire av. J.C., Paris, 2008, p.44, fig.1,3; p.97, no.45, for similar types.

Footnotes

It is difficult to know whether this type of axe, given its high decoration in some specimens, was used as a weapon or was a symbol of rank and prestige, employed for ceremonial or cult purposes. However, considering that the concept of parade weapons did not exist in the surrounding areas in Antiquity, these axes were most probably used for both military and ceremonial purposes.

CONDITION

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LOT 1848