An Elamite Bronze Shaft-Hole Axehead, ca. early 2nd Millennium BCE

With a rounded lunate blade, and curled protrusion at back. A sheep’s head projecting from the back of the shaft hole, the blade emanating from a serpent’s mouth.

Exhibited: Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University, 1988-2008; George Mason University Art Museum, Fairfax, Virginia, 2008-2010; Fitchburg University Art Museum, Fitchburg, MA, 2010-2011.

Cf. a similar example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession no. 65.145.1

Dimensions: Height: 4 7/8 inches (12.4 cm)

Condition: Intact and in excellent condition overall.

Provenance: Ex B.S. collection, Grand Blanc, MI acquired from Royal-Athena in 1988.