Viking axe with christian cross? Pictures.

[Esotec]

I recently purchased this axe head at a reputable auction. The objects had very good provenance from 1930 onwards.
Is it just me or does the item have a Christian cross in its markings?
How common is it that the markings is so well defined?
I am happy to post more pictures if desired.

[Esotec]

A few more pics.
Size is ca 14cm x 9cm.

[Battara]

I'm moving this over to the European section.

[Radboud]

Interesting object, what's it made of? In the photo it looks like bronze, but that could just be the light.

As for the cross... it could just be a geometric pattern or a cross that isn't related to Christianity. Of course the Viking society gradually converted to Christianity during the 10th and 11th Centuries so a cross wouldn't be out of place later in the Viking Era.

Who's the auction house, we need to be careful. Some, like Timeline auctions have a reputation for peddling fakes.

[Esotec]

Originally Posted by Radboud

Interesting object, what's it made of? In the photo it looks like bronze, but that could just be the light.

As for the cross... it could just be a geometric pattern or a cross that isn't related to Christianity. Of course the Viking society gradually converted to Christianity during the 10th and 11th Centuries so a cross wouldn't be out of place later in the Viking Era.

Who's the auction house, we need to be careful. Some, like Timeline auctions have a reputation for peddling fakes.

Its made of iron.
I bought it from a well known Swedish auction house. And the provenance was very good. One of the reasons I bought it.
I can see now that the color is abit of in the pics. Maybe due to the background.

[fernando]

Esotec, who told you this axe is Viking ? Was it the auction house ?

[Esotec]

Originally Posted by fernando

Esotec, who told you this axe is Viking ? Was it the auction house ?

The auction house described the object as
"Beard axe, Viking age, ca 750-950".

[toaster5sqn]

My biggest concern would be the lack of any laminations showing in the corrosion as the most common manufacturing method for Viking axes was a softer iron body with a forge welded steel edge. This appears to be a homogenous piece of steel with no forging marks.

Robert

[Lee]

Very interesting! It appears that the eye is somewhat collapsed and has lost considerable material on one side. Direct-on views of the more intact side might help. It is absolutely amazing how much appears to be intact, but this is not unique, and most of the axes I have seen have suffered sufficient corrosion that similar decoration would have been lost or obscured. Any hint from the salesroom about where this was originally found? I'll look for something similar in the references I have.

Thanks to the Internet Archive for a pdf of Peter Paulsen's Axt und Kreuz (1939): https://archive.org/details/AxtundKreuz
Though present throughout, look first at decorations on the pdf pages 36 to 40 (original pages 68 - 77)

[Lee]

In answer of Esotec's original question, I stumbled upon this sequence as translated by Google on pdf page 99, original page 195:

In the Viking Age, in addition to the previously mentioned crosses, axes and hammer more into the foreground. Snorri Sturluson says the Godessaga in Hakon Chapter 17, that there was a sign in the north that was holy to Thor, hammer sign is called and has a resemblance to a cross. We find on gravestones and coins that represent Thor's hammer symbols. At the end of the 10th century a slightly modified shape of the cross can be seen: the arms of the cross have crossbars preserved (Fig. 104). This is the sign of the advancing Christianity and became the popular symbol of Christians from the Baltic Sea region to southern Russia there. O. Montelius has already proven that the equal-armed cross not only came to the north as a Christian symbol, but for a long time was previously alive as a four-spoked wheel and sun sign until the Viking Age and only then was it taken over by the Nordic Christians. In this sense have we understand these signs of the cross on the axes.

[Esotec]

Originally Posted by Lee

Very interesting! It appears that the eye is somewhat collapsed and has lost considerable material on one side. Direct-on views of the more intact side might help. It is absolutely amazing how much appears to be intact, but this is not unique, and most of the axes I have seen have suffered sufficient corrosion that similar decoration would have been lost or obscured. Any hint from the salesroom about where this was originally found? I'll look for something similar in the references I have.

Thanks to the Internet Archive for a pdf of Peter Paulsen's Axt und Kreuz (1939): https://archive.org/details/AxtundKreuz
Though present throughout, look first at decorations on the pdf pages 36 to 40 (original pages 68 - 77)

Wow.
Thank you. That is some interesting reading.
Unfortunately, they did not mention where the ax was found.
But I have not yet received all the provenance papers and it is very possible that something is written there.
Apparently the ax has been in Charles Buttin's possession and later purchased from Philippe Missillier (Lyon) in 2016 at Kassel Waffenbörse 2016.
The eye seems to have received a serious blow so that it folded. However, most of the material seems to remain.
It was the well-preserved details as well as the good provenance that made me buy the axe.

[Lee]

I would be pleased to have such provenance on more of my own collection, such as it is.

I wonder if the pristine areas reflect so-called glodeskall?

Glodeskall refers to a compound of iron and oxygen (Fe.O.) created when an iron object is subjected to intense heat. Glodeskall
forms a shell ( skal ) or skin around the object and, as long as it is intact, provides some protection against corrosion.
However, it often has minute cracks, which may permit corrosion to quickly attack the object behind the shell.

From Swords of the Viking Age

[C4RL]

Originally Posted by Lee

I wonder if the pristine areas reflect so-called glodeskall

Glodeskall = "Blacksmith's scale" I wonder?

I don't see "scale" on this head.

Amazing how crisp the non corroded parts of this head are, it'd definitely be interesting to know how it was originally found, how some areas survived free of oxidation especially as it's damaged so one wouldn't expect great care to have been taken with it!

It's not easy to tell from images but it looks a very uniform iron, no evidence of "grain" or impurities.
Interesting!

.

[Esotec]

Yes, I'm really happy with the provenance.
Took two pictures that better show the surface of the blade.
Dont think its glodeskall.
I am also surprised by the condition. Maybe the axe lay in sandy soil/sand, maybe Peat?