Crescent-Shaped Ax Head (Chandrasa)
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.
Artwork Details
- Title: Crescent-Shaped Ax Head (Chandrasa)
- Period: Bronze and Iron Age period
- Date: ca. 500 BCE–300 CE
- Culture: Indonesia
- Medium: Bronze
- Dimensions: Approx. L. 24 in. (61 cm)
- Classification: Metalwork
- Credit Line: Samuel Eilenberg Collection, Bequest of Samuel Eilenberg, 1998
- Object Number: 2000.284.49
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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