1920.44.14: Flanged Axe Head

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1920.44.14

Title

Flanged Axe Head

Classification

Weapons and Ammunition

Work Type

axe

Date

16th-13th century BCE

Places

Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World

Period

Bronze Age

Culture

Italic

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/303590

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Leaded bronze

Technique

Cast, lost-wax process

Dimensions

5.1 x 4.4 cm (2 x 1 3/4 in.)

Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 89.29; Sn, 8.12; Pb, 2.23; Zn, 0.077; Fe, 0.02; Ni, less than 0.01; Ag, 0.03; Sb, 0.11; As, 0.12; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.01; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is smooth green on one side and pitted green and brown on the other side. The break on one end is jagged and corroded, indicating that it occurred prior to burial. The axe head was cast and then shaped further by hot working.


Carol Snow (submitted 2002)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Miss Elizabeth Gaskell Norton, Boston, MA and Miss Margaret Norton, Cambridge, MA (by 1920), gift; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1920.

Note: The Misses Norton were daughters of Charles Elliot Norton (1827-1908).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Misses Norton

Accession Year

1920

Object Number

1920.44.14

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

This fragmentary axe head has a grooved upper and lower edge with a curved side. It is broken and the right half is missing.

Subjects and Contexts

• Ancient Bronzes

Verification Level