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Conservation Status: After Treatment
Ceremonial Axe
Conservation Status: After Treatment
Image © Worcester Art Museum, all rights reserved.

Ceremonial Axe

Date1500s-1800s
Mediumsteel and iron
Dimensions92 cm (36 1/4 in.), 5 lb, 2 oz (weight)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Object number2014.468
DescriptionPerhaps reworked from a 16th c. Deccan mace, though the hilt type resembles a pulwar. Finely crafted iron hilt of distinctive South Indian style with short crossguard terminating in monster (Makara?) heads curving toward circular shaft. Knuckle guard similarly treated. Bulbous grip with bowl-shaped pommel with flat disk on end supporting oblate terminal with pierced cord ring. Brazed copper repair on the grip.

Shaft terminates in 2 blades. Crescentic blade with sawtooth cuts opposite curve, & ending in small monster heads opposed by curved peacock. Blade shows signs of reworking and reduction, perhaps due to damage at edge. This component and the adjacent fittings seem newer than the hilt and shaft, but older than the distal blade.

At distal end is a single-edged blade, slightly curved, widening at center, terminating in point on back edge, perhaps adapted from an ayudha katti (see comparative example in digital file). This blade seems to be of less quality than the rest of the object, and the attachment point is not well executed; of the two securing rivets, the lower one appears to be broken inside.
Label TextThis axe is one of the most mysterious objects in WAM’s arms and armor collection. It is a composite, made of components from different weapons. The grip and shaft come from a very fine mace of the 1500s or 1600s. The axe blade and attached peacock decoration are from a weapon of the 1700s. The large concave blade at the top is of uncertain date and origin, and mostly serves to add balance and impressiveness to the whole. The weapon is completely impractical for use in battle. Its decorative qualities suggests a ceremonial nature, but its true purpose remains unknown.ProvenanceCollection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.
On View
Not on view
Reference Image - Not for Reproduction
about 1600–1650
Kastane (sword)
Sri Lankan
1700s
Michel Witz the Younger
about 1530
Michel Witz the Younger
about 1530
Mace
Southern Indian
1600s-1700s
Reference Image - Not for Reproduction
about 1650–1700
Keris (dagger)
Java
hilt probably late 1800s, blade perhaps 1700s
Reference Image - Not for Reproduction
Italian
about 1620–1630
Boarding Sword
Italian
about 1500–1525