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HOME :
Pre-Columbian Art :
Art of the United States : Hopewell Green Slate Ceremonial Axe
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Hopewell Green Slate Ceremonial Axe - PF.0331
Origin: The Mississipi Valley, USA
Circa: 200
BC
to 200
AD
Dimensions:
20.125" (51.1cm) high
x 6.25" (15.9cm) wide
Catalogue: V1
Collection: Pre-Columbian
Medium: Slate
Location: United States
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| Description |
Around 100 B.C. the Hopewell people
settled in
the northern woodlands. By the first
century A.D.
their culture had flourished,
influencing a wide
area as far as the lower Mississippi.
The society
of the Hopewell, as well as other
tribes, were
essentially hierarchical--comprising a
chief,
ruling elite and high ranking shamans;
all of
whom required specialized objects for
domestic
and ritual use. This beautiful axe was
intended
as a ceremonial tool, perhaps used to
'duplicate'
in ceremony the larger axes used in
battle. The
staff is tubular in shape and rounded at
the
bottom; the blade curves gracefully from
two
horizontal extensions. Its elemental
form and
perfect balance attests to the carver's
expertise
in working with stone instruments. There
is such
elegance in this axe it almost seems to
be a
result of an act of nature; though we
can readily
see the experienced hand of an artist
who
created something of power for the sake
of his
gods.
- (PF.0331)
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