Untitled

Unknown

ca. 500 BCE–300 CE · Translucent agate · Asian Art

Ax heads made of both stone and bronze are common to the early cultures of South China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Examples dating from the Neolithic period and the early Bronze Age, with rounded heads and simple sockets, are often found in burials, illustrating their value as tools, weapons, and items of prestige. Bronze examples produced during the later part of the Bronze and Iron Age are often in fanciful shapes such as a boat or foot, or have flamboyant curving blades. This highly polished, elegant agate example was most likely a symbol of prestige and may have been used in a burial or given as a gift to mark a political alliance or intermarriage.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 500 BCE–300 CE

Medium

Translucent agate

Culture

Indonesia

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Samuel Eilenberg Collection, Bequest of Samuel Eilenberg, 1998