Viking Age Iron Socketted Hook-Billed Axehead

CIRCA 9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.

6 in. (618 grams, 15.2 cm).

With a long, deeply curved blade, short neck, socket with slightly curved wings above and below, and hammer-face to rear; professionally cleaned, conserved, and restored. [No Reserve]

Provenance

From the family collection of a South East London collector; formerly acquired in the late 1950s.

Literature

Cf. Sedov, B.B., Finno-Ugri i Balti v Epokhi Srednevekovija, Moscow, 1987, plate CXXIV, item 1.

Footnotes

These axes are typical of Baltic workmanship. During this age, the axes were the favourite weapons of many Baltic people, including the Curonian army, which included lightly armed soldiers who fought with spears, shields, fighting knives and axes. A heavily armed soldier could also carry a sword, a helmet, a shield, and a wide-bladed axe.

CONDITION

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LOT 1747