A LURISTAN AXE HEAD

A LURISTAN AXE HEAD
Circa early 1st Millennium B.C.
Finely cast, with a downward curving blade and a slightly curved cutting edge, the ornate shaft-hole decorated with the head of a lion, with an open mouth facing the blade, the butt with an eagle's head with a curved beak and incised circle and dot eyes, 19.7cm long, (16.4cm high inc. mount)
Provenance: With Rupert Wace Ancient Art, acquired Sotheby's, New York, 13 December 2000, lot 276; private collection, London, acquired from the above in 2001.