Model ax
Unknown Artist
ca. 1981–1802 B.C.
Medium
Copper, wood, animal hide
Dimensions
l. 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in)
Classification
Model ax
Period
Middle Kingdom
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Edward S. Harkness, 1917
Accession Number
17.9.18
Art Historical Context
This delicate **Model Ax**, crafted around 1981–1802 B.C. during Egypt's Middle Kingdom (Dynasty 12), is a miniature marvel from the tomb of an elite individual. Standing just 4.5 cm long, it combines a copper blade with a wooden handle bound by animal hide, showcasing the era's skilled metalworking and woodworking traditions. Such models were not toys but vital grave goods, symbolically equipping the deceased for eternity. In the Middle Kingdom, a golden age of stability and artistic revival, tomb models like this ax proliferated, reflecting deeply held beliefs in the afterlife. Real axes we...