The axe with a rimmed, fan-shaped blade. The cylindrical socket extending into four molds terminating in spikes, with bands crossing over and merging above the blade. Overall with a rich, naturally grown, solid patina with distinct areas of encrustations.

Provenance: Galerie Persepolis, Brussels, exhibited from 28 October to 13 November 1971. Collection Monsieur H., Brussels, acquired from the above. Collection Madame D.T., acquired from the above.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, few nicks, light scratches, minor losses, signs of weathering and corrosion, and encrustations.

Weight: 385.5 g (excl. stand)
Dimensions: Length 23.5 cm

With a modern metal stand. (2)

Luristan bronzes are small cast and decorated objects from the Early Iron Age (first millennium BC) which have been found in large numbers in Lorestan province and Kermanshah in western Iran. They include a great number of ornaments, tools, weapons, horse fittings, and a smaller number of vessels including situlae and are characterized by a wide range of idiosyncratic forms and a highly stylized conception of human and animal representation. Those from recorded excavations were generally found in burials. The ethnicity of the people who created them remains unclear, though they may well have been Iranian, possibly related to the modern Lur people who have given their name to the area. Luristan bronze objects came to the notice of the world art market from the late 1920s onwards. They were excavated in considerable quantities by local people and are found today in many of the world's most important museums.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related bronze axe, 22.5 cm long, dated circa 1350-1000 BC, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number M.76.97.457. Compare a related bronze axe, 25.3 cm long, dated to the 9th century BC, in the British Museum, registration number 1973,1220.17. Compare a related bronze axe, 19.3 cm long, 1000-800 BC, in the Louvre, inventory number AO 20399. Compare a related bronze axe, illustrated in Alexis Cabrol, Bronzes prehistoriques de Perse. Bulletin de la Societe prehistorique de France, 1932, vol. 29, no. 9, pp. 429-432.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie's New York, 12 April 2022, lot 53
Price: USD 21,420 or approx. EUR 19,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Luristan bronze axe head surmounted by an ibex, circa 1200-900 BC
Expert remark: Note the similar size (25.4 cm)