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LOT 1464
Stone Age Polished Stone Flataxe
NEOLITHIC PERIOD, CIRCA 6TH-4TH MILLENNIUM B.C.
6 in. (357 grams, 14 cm).
With long square-ended butt, slightly lenticular-section body expanding to a broad curved cutting edge; smooth polished finish; small repair. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a very old English collection based on the cabinet patination.
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.
Cf. similar item in the collection of the British Museum under accession no.WG.1541.
FootnotesAxes of this type were produced in the later Neolithic by expert knappers and polishers; these designs influenced early Bronze Age products such as the flat axes which eventually developed into palstave axeheads.
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AUCTIONS:
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Stone Age and Later Artefact Collection
Neolithic Period, 4th millennium B.C. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £46
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Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a Shropshire private collector. -
Large Stone Age Speckled Stone Axehead
Neolithic Period, circa 6th-4th millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
An axehead or chisel with cylindrical body, conical butt and broad straight edge. 928 grams, 19.4 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. -
Stone Age Long Flint Arrowhead Group
Neolithic Period, circa 8th-5th millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Comprising mostly bifacial and uniface leaf-shaped flint and chert arrowheads; probably from the Sahara region of North Africa. 140 grams total, 33-56 mm
UK gallery, early 2000s.
Between the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, some of the most useful human inventions were perfected, including the bow and arrow. The feathered arrow for hunting birds was invented. Most arrows used during hunting were tipped with flint or obsidian, although some had blunt wooden tips to stun birds without injuring them. The bows were made of ash and the strings were made of animal sinews.
