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Polished Stone Axe (Masei sekifu)

Late Jōmon period (ca. 1500–1000 BCE)
Not on view
The polished axe (masei sekifu) or celt is the most common type of stone implement used during the Neolithic age in East Asia. Such examples have been excavated with Jōmon pottery, as well as with Yayoi pottery and bronze artifacts. The earliest Japanese examples are said to date to 30,0000 years B.C., and are among the oldest stone implements in the world.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 磨製石斧
  • Title: Polished Stone Axe (Masei sekifu)
  • Period: Late Jōmon period (ca. 1500–1000 BCE)
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Serpentine
  • Dimensions: H. 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm); W. 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm); D. 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm)
  • Classification: Stone
  • Credit Line: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.268.265
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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