VIKING BEARDED IRON AXE HEAD ON STAND

c. 900-1100 AD. Viking age. An iron bearded axe head with a heavy curved blade and a round socket. Both sides of the blade feature etched decoration: on one side a star, and on the other a hatched design. The item is mounted on a custom-made stand. The bearded axe, or Skeggøx (from Old Norse Skegg, "beard", and øx, "axe") was common from the 6th century AD onwards in Scandinavia, but made most famous by the Vikings, who used these axes in battle to terrible effect. Bearded axes are named for the fact that the main part of the axe blade extends below the butt of the axe, creating a large cutting blade and allowing a fighter to hook onto the shields or weapons of his (or her) opponents. Further information on axes of this type can be found in H. Arbman, Birka I: Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940. Excellent condition. Size: H:130mm/L:160mm/H:95mm; 595g. Provenance: From the private collection of an Essex gentleman; previously in an old British Collection, formed before 2000.