Axe head
Unknown Artist
3rd millennium BCE
Medium
Limestone or marble, pale green
Dimensions
4.4 x 8.5 in. (11.18 x 21.59 cm)
Classification
Stone-Implements
Period
Early Bronze Age
Department
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Anonymous Gift, 1963
Accession Number
63.147.2
Art Historical Context
This pale green limestone or marble axe head, to the Early Bronze Age (3rd BCE), hails from the Ancient Near East—a cradle of early civilization in regions like Mesopotamia the Levant. Measuring just 4.4 x 8.5 inches, this compact yet robust stone implement exemplifies the craftsmanship of a time when societies were transitioning from stone to emerging metal technologies. Carved with precision, its smooth, polished surface highlights the skill of anonymous artisans who shaped durable tools from precious materials, often sourced from distant quarries. In the Early Bronze Age, axe heads like th...