Western Asiatic Bronze Flat Axe
Circa 3rd-2nd millennium B.C. Comprising a wedge-shaped blade and piriform handle. Cf. Gernez, G., L’armament en métal au Proche et Moyen-Orient: des origines a 1750 av. J.C., Paris, 2007, fig.2.3, subtype of flat axes H.1.B, for the type.156 grams, 17.7 cm (7 in.). UK private collection formed before 2000. Ex North London, UK, gallery. These blades were fitted directly to the handle or via a sheath. Flat axes, whose axis is parallel to that of the handle, often had a rounded edge like in our specimen, or a flared and bevelled edge, while flat adzes have an axis perpendicular to that of the handle and a bevel edge on one side only. Their shape comes directly from the lithic axes of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. [No Reserve]