Stone Age French Polished Axehead

Group of three carved and polished figurines with rounded heads and broad shoulders, folded arms resting on each side, legs folded beneath the body; each mounted on a custom-made stand. 1.27 kg total, 8.7-11.5 cm including stand



From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12351-223248.

Most scholars consider these as symbols of the fertility cult and as evidence of the existence of a matriarchal society as a form of organisation of the earliest human society. The people of the Stone Age may have considered figures such as this to represent women and mothers with their life-giving powers, or as depictions of the ancestors.

Rectangular in section with mottled polished surface, narrow butt; old collector's label 'N3'. 169 grams, 89 mm



Found Tievebarragh Co., Antrim, Northern Ireland. Acquired from Peter Farncis, in 1979. From the private collection of Kenneth Machin (1936-2020), Buckinghamshire, UK; with collection no.N3; his collection of antiquities and natural history was formed since 1948; thence by descent.

With regular profile, lentoid in section, thick rounded butt and broad point; cortex to one face. 529 grams, 15.1 cm



From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.