Mycenaean double-axe

<p><br></p> <p>Double axe in bronze with oval shaft hole. The cutting edges are in good condition, with signs of use. Although the surface was once a warm brown color, prolonged exposure to oxygen and mineral-rich environments has caused some corrosion and it is now covered with mottled-green patina. The double axe was an important symbol of the Minoans and Mycenaeans with distinctive features that represented power and authority, but was also used as a tool or weapon and is found in residential contexts.</p> <p><u>Object number:</u> 127.022.</p> <p><u>Date:</u> 13^th–12^th century B.C.</p> <p><u>Parallels:</u> New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art 07.232.12, 24.150.11, 26.31.483; compare with London, British Museum 1897,0401.1467.</p> <p><u>References:</u> Briggs, C. S. "Double Axe Doubts", <em>Antiquity</em>, vol. 47, no. 188, 1973, pp. 318; Rouse, W. H. D. “The Double Axe and the Labyrinth”, <em>The Journal of Hellenic Studies</em>, vol. 21, 1901, pp. 268–274; Harding, A., “Mycenaean Greece and Europe: the Evidence of Bronze Tools and Implements”, <em>Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society</em>, vol. 41, 1975, pp. 183–202; Blackwell, N. G., “Contextualizing Mycenaean Hoards: Metal Control on the Greek Mainland at the End of the Bronze Age”, <em>American Journal of Archaeology</em>, vol. 122, no. 4, 2018, pp. 509–39.</p><p>Photo by Steve Morton</p>