Harvard Art Museums > 2002.60.25: Palstave Weapons and Ammunition Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Palstave , 2002.60.25,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 23, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/141660. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2002.60.25 Title Palstave Other Titles Former Title: Small Axe Classification Weapons and Ammunition Work Type axe Date 2nd millennium BCE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe Period Bronze Age Culture European Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/141660 Physical Descriptions Medium Copper alloy Technique Cast, lost-wax process Dimensions 2.7 x 4.1 x 8.5 cm (1 1/16 x 1 5/8 x 3 3/8 in.) Technical Details Technical Observations: The patina is mostly brown; it is worn in a few areas to the bare metal, and only a few uneven pitted or raised areas of green corrosion accretions speckle the surface. The surface accretions appear to have been scraped off almost entirely, leaving scraper marks in the metal. The butt and the blade are in slightly better condition, although they are also somewhat dinged. The surface has probably been waxed. The object was cast. Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2012) Provenance Recorded Ownership History W. C. Burriss Young, Cambridge, MA, bequest; to the Harvard University Art Museums, 2002. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of W.C. Burriss Young Accession Year 2002 Object Number 2002.60.25 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums The blade of this palstave has a slight flare on the ends. It has a thin, low midrib extending from the blade edge to the stop. The attachment section is recessed on both faces. There is a raised line on each of the exterior wings. A palstave as a cutting tool would have been attached perpendicularly to a wooden handle; the shafts of wood would have fitted into the attachment section up to the stop and secured with some type of rope (1). Axe heads of this type can be found throughout western Europe (2). NOTES: 1. See the reconstruction in K. Kibbert, Die Äxte und Beile im mittleren Westdeutschland 2, Prähistorische Bronzefunde 9.13 (Munich, 1984) pl. 42.552.a-b. 2. Compare, for example, id., Die Äxte und Beile im mittleren Westdeutschland 1, Prähistorische Bronzefunde 9.10 (Munich, 1980) no. 524, pl. 35; and M.-B. Chardenoux and J.-C. Courtois, Les haches dans la France Méridionale, Prähistorische Bronzefunde 9.11 (Munich, 1979) no. 636, pl. 37. Lisa M. Anderson Subjects and Contexts Ancient Bronzes Related Works 2002.60.21 Palstave Weapons and Ammunition Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
