Axe Head

Place of OriginIran, likely from Luristan

Date750-650 BCE

Dimensions4 1/4 × 8 3/8 × 1 1/4 in. (10.8 × 21.3 × 3.2 cm)
Socket: 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm)

MediumBronze

ClassificationMetalwork

Credit LineGladys Lawson Art Fund

Object number

1988.49

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

Label TextThe elaborate decoration of this axe head suggests it was used ceremonially or as a grave offering rather than as a utilitarian object. A stylized boar crouches on the top edge of the blade and four more boars’ heads adorn the handle socket. An incised geometric pattern ornaments the blade. The bronze rope design around the handle socket recalls actual rope used to secure the ax head to the shaft. Luristan art encompasses intricately cast bronze objects—such as horse gear, weapons, and ritual finials—produced in western Iran's Zagros Mountains between 1000 and 650 BCE. Characterized by stylized animal motifs and openwork designs, these artifacts reflect the material culture of nomadic or transhumant societies in Iran. Most known examples surfaced through antiquities markets, often lacking archaeological context.Comparative ReferencesSee also Moorey, P.R.S. et al., Ancient Bronzes, Ceramics, and Seals, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1981, pp. 20-327, esp. p. 25, no. 38.

cf. Ghirshman, Roman, The Arts of Ancient Iran, New York, 1964, pp. 41, ff., esp. 62-66.