Neolithic Stone Tool - 90 mm - Polished Axe

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€ 50
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Ruth Garrido Vila
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Selected by Ruth Garrido Vila

Directed the Ifergan Collection Museum, specialising in Phoenician and Mediterranean archaeology.

Estimate  € 150 - € 200
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Neolithic polished axe, stone, 90 mm high by 40 mm wide by 20 mm deep, from France and dating to around 5000 BC, with auction-house provenance from the United Kingdom and a private-collection prior owner dating to 1970, in good used condition.

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Description from the seller

Auction house provenance, previously private collection.

The polishing of flint marks such a significant technological advance that archaeologists use this to draw the boundary between the Mesolithic and the Neolithic periods.

The polished flint axes made it possible to cultivate the land – with them large trees could be felled so there was space for fields. But these axes were also used when houses and fences were to be built or if firewood was to be chopped. Besides being tools, axes could also have important ritual and social functions. In the course of the Neolithic period the shape of axes changed. First they were ‘point-butted’, then they became thin-butted and finally they were thick-butted.

This example is finely and evenly polished, and appears to have been used until blunt.

Shipped royal mail tracked

Auction house provenance, previously private collection.

The polishing of flint marks such a significant technological advance that archaeologists use this to draw the boundary between the Mesolithic and the Neolithic periods.

The polished flint axes made it possible to cultivate the land – with them large trees could be felled so there was space for fields. But these axes were also used when houses and fences were to be built or if firewood was to be chopped. Besides being tools, axes could also have important ritual and social functions. In the course of the Neolithic period the shape of axes changed. First they were ‘point-butted’, then they became thin-butted and finally they were thick-butted.

This example is finely and evenly polished, and appears to have been used until blunt.

Shipped royal mail tracked

Details

Era
Before 1400
Culture
Neolithic
Century/ Timeframe
5000bc
Country of Origin
France
Acquired from
Auction house
Year acquired
2025
Material
Stone
Country acquired from
United Kingdom
Condition
Good condition - used with small signs of aging & blemishes
Previous owner acquired from
Private collection
Height
90 mm
Previous owner - year acquired
1970
Width
40 mm
Previous owner - country acquired from
France
Depth
20 mm
I verify that I have obtained this object legally and that I am allowed to sell it
Yes
Title additional information
Polished Axe
United KingdomVerified
1481
Objects sold
100%
Private

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