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LOT 1570
Very Large Stone Age 'Livre de Beurre' from Le Grand Pressigny
NEOLITHIC PERIOD, 5500-2400 B.P.
12 in. (14 3/4 in.) (2.62 kg, 30.5 cm (3.79 kg total, 37.5 cm including stand)).
A substantial flint core or so-called 'Livre de Beurre' with vertical traces of blows on the work side, including one pronounced blade negative extending half way along the stone’s length; cortex remains and core preparation traces on other side; proximal end with impact surface, distal end with rounded point; two bifacial wave to chevron-shaped core edges; flat-prismatic cross-section; raw material for blade production, beige stone (silex) with yellow undertone, cream-coloured patches and spots, slightly shiny surface (origin: Le Grand Pressigny, Dép. Indre-et-Loire, France); old collector's label 'N13310'; supplied with a custom-made stand.
ProvenancePrivate collection, B.G., Southwest France.
Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate no.S00127506.
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LOT 1570
Very Large Stone Age 'Livre de Beurre' from Le Grand Pressigny
Estimate £600 - 800€700 - 930 (for guidance only)$810 - 1,080 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£325 (EUR 377; USD 439) ‡+BP*
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Stone Age Knapped Flint Knife Group
Neolithic Period, circa 6th millennium B.P.Estimate: £20 - 30 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Comprising three knife blades, including one leaf-shaped. 36.2 grams total, 72-75 mm
From the private collection of the late Mr M., a collector from Waterlooville, Hampshire, UK; late 1980s-early 1990s. -
Danish Stone Age Pecked Boat-Shaped Axehead
Neolithic Period, circa 6,000 B.P.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
With a rounded butt, slightly curving cutting edge and a round socket; inked collector's note 'Slagelse' to the rear. 1.28 kg, 17 cm
Found Slagelse, Denmark. From the collection of Martin Doyle, Leverstock, UK, 1980s-2000s. -
Farnham Large Stone Age Knapped Flint Axe
Neolithic Period, circa 6,000 B.P.Estimate: £150 - 200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Leaf-shaped in profile with broad butt and sturdy point; cortex to flat underside; old collector' labels 'Snails Lynch / 3 feet / 19/4/[..]', '3 [..]/38'. 370 grams, 18.5 cm
Found during the original official excavations in the Farnham area, Surrey, UK, which were conducted by Harold Faulker (1875-1963), and William Francis Rankine (c.1877-1962), who were instrumental with the excavation works and pit dwellings at sites including Six Bells, Frensham, Tilford, Thursley and Bagshot, and Waverley, amongst others at and near Farnham in the 1930s and 1940s. Much of the material is now in the prestigious Farnham museum. The present part of the collection having been gifted to their good friend and Haselmere Parish Priest, Charles Borelli (c.1914-2000) of Farnham; who was part of the Borelli family from Italy who emigrated from Lake Como in 1828 to set up the Borelli family watch and jewellery business; thence by family descent to his nephew.
Farnham district is one of the most interesting prehistoric regions in England, and has been visited by a succession of prehistoric peoples from Palaeolithic times onwards. Along the southern slope of the Farnham valley are three gravel terraces, which are famous prehistorically and have yielded large quantities of flint implements and bones of prehistoric animals, notably the mammoth. In prehistoric times, the chalk deposits played an important role in attracting settlers, as they contained rich layers of flint nodules used to make implements. The Farnham Gravels have been an abundant source of Palaeolithic finds, most prominent being hand axes. The axes differ in type, and each type is associated with a cultural phase of the Palaeolithic period. Types similar to these are found in similar deposits in the Somme valley and in many English valley gravels. Flint mining was also carried out by the Neolithic folk. Polished axes and leaf forms, arrowheads and knives, or possibly lance heads, are characteristic of the Neolithic flint work.
