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LOT 1440
Teutonic Order Iron War Axe with Maker's Mark
13TH-14TH CENTURY A.D.
7 in. (805 grams, 17.8 cm).
Mazovian or Teutonic Order, hand-forged with rectangular-section socket and expanding bearded blade; a maker's mark to one side of the blade and an openwork three-lobed flower tapering towards the blade; four notches on the upper part of the socket; professionally cleaned, conserved and restored. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx property of a London businessman, from his grandfather's collection formed after World War II; thence by descent 1972.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
See Glosek, M., Późnośredniowieczna broń obuchowa w zbiorach polskich, Warszawa-Łódź, 1996, pls.VII-VIII, especially VIII lett.C.
FootnotesThis typology of axes (type Ig of the Glosek classification) was in use throughout Europe in the 13th-14th centuries. This axe is similar to one excavated during an archaeological survey of the castle at Czersk, dated to the 13th-14th century A.D. Close parallels have also been found in Elbląg, a famous commandery of the Teutonic Order from 1237 to 1454 A.D. The stronghold served as a seat of the Masters of the Teutonic Order.
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