**Originally Listed At $500**

Southeast Asia, Vietnam, Dong Son Culture, ca. late 1st millennium BCE. A pair of beautiful curved axe heads, each with an asymmetrical blade and ovoid socket as well as a small opening at the top of the socket. The casting technique for Dong Son bronzes was demanding artistically and technically, and it seems likely based on archaeological investigation that they were made by local workshops staffed by specialists. These specialists shared knowledge throughout their geographic region, and weapons like this one are constructed similarly to those from the Warring States period in China. We know of them mainly from burials, and it seems that bronze items - both the making of and ownership of - were controlled by a limited elite who used them to acquire and maintain power over their own people. As elsewhere in the Old World, there is a clear relationship between sophisticated bronze metallurgical technology and the development of highly stratified, militaristic societies. Size of largest: 2.75" W x 2.95" H (7 cm x 7.5 cm); 4.35" H (11 cm) on included custom stand.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Butterfields auction

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#139336

Both have light wear around the blade edges and bottom of the socket. Nice preservation of form. One has a mottled sky blue and teal patina, while the other has a mottled turquoise patina.