Crescent-Shaped Ax Head (Chandrasa)

Indonesia

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 244

The flamboyant curved blade and asymmetrically placed splayed socket of this piece are typical of works from Java and Sulewasi, produced in full size and as miniatures, and used as funerary gifts and for ceremony and display. Axes are often carried by the feathered warriors depicted on drums and situlae from the Dongson culture of Vietnam, and late Dongson ax heads with pediform or boat-like shaped are other thought to have provided prototypes for the exaggerated examples produced in Indonesia.

Crescent-Shaped Ax Head (Chandrasa), Bronze, Indonesia

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