1884.119.559

Collection type

Object

Description

Copper axe

Long description

A flat implement of copper or copper-alloy with semicircular blade and flaring tang: 'tumi knife' shape. Both blade and tang are damaged. Fragments of cotton textile adhere to both sides of the object, which has a green patina. Implements of this kind are generally assumed to have a religious or ceremonial function. One set of elements in the textile is doubled; the other set single. No selvages present. [LM 31/10/2007]

Geographical reference

Peru

Latin America and the Caribbean > South America > Peru

Unknown

Person

Maker Unknown Maker

Field collector Thomas Joseph Hutchinson

PRM source Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection

Date

Date collected

?1873

Acquisition information

Donated: 1884

Materials and processes

Material Copper Alloy Metal, Material Cotton Seed Fibre Textile Plant, Process Cast, Process Woven

Dimensions

Width: max 110 mm, Length: max 215 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1884.119.559

Research and responses

Lord Cochrane accompanied Hutchinson in his expedition to the Pachacamac ruins see 'Explorations among the Ruins of Pachacamac. Peru' by John Schumacher Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York, Vol. 5, (1874), pp. 248-255 [AP 06/05/2010]

If the matching of this object to the green book entry is correct that this object came from the Hutchinson collection. For information about Hutchinson see the Biographies file [AP Leverhulme project on founding collection 1995-1998]

Associated publications

Hutchinson T.J. 1875: Explorations amongst ancient burial grounds, chiefly on the sea coast valleys of Peru. The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 4, 2–13. See also: Hutchinson, T.J. 1887: Two years in Peru, with exploration of its antiquities (London). [AS 14/01/2011]

Search terms: Tool, Weapon, Religion, Ritual and Ceremonial, Knife