Axe

Item number Ac245 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Data
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Description

Thick brown wood shaft with blackened ends. One end is large and angled while the other end has a rounded knob which is elbow-like with carved recessed circles clustered on either sides. Attached by tang through the knob's middle is a wide metal blade which begins abruptly from tang, flares out to points, and has a convex edge. Flattened surfaces face the left and the right. Row of three incised diamonds decorate each blade side and tang has two incised rings around the circumference. Row of spaced recessed circles decorate circumference of butt end.

History Of Use

Axes have a wide range of uses, including cutting meat, bones, trees, branches and bushes. They were mostly used for cutting down trees and branches, and to clear bushes to prepare land for farming. In largely forested areas, sometimes "slash and burn" is the preferred method for clearing lands for agriculture.

Cultural Context

utilitarian

Narrative

The collector, Nellie Taylor, served as a nursing missionary (1900-1920), first with the Ovimbundu at Bihe, then with the Chokwe at luma Kasai. She belonged to a group who sponsored several missions across Central Africa from 1881-1931.