Native American, Northwestern United States, Alaska, Inuit, Aleutian, or Punuk peoples, ca. 1000 to 18th century CE. A polished piece of omphacite jade pecked into a flared blade for use as an axe or adze tool. While the use of jade is best known by Central American and Chinese cultures, jade was also used by the peoples inhabiting the Pacific Coastal regions of British Columbia, Alaska, and the Bering Sea. Pre-contact with Europeans, tools were traditionally made with stone or bone blades and affixed to a wood or bone handle and served a variety of purposes such as chopping ice, digging, and shaping boats. Jade would be perfectly suited for hard labor and utilitarian use as it rates even higher than steel on the Mohs hardness scale! Size: 4" L x 2.5" W (10.2 cm x 6.4 cm)

For a collection of similar jade tools, please see the British Museum's website, museum number: Am.6772.

Provenance: ex-Marc Amiguet Schmitt estate, Amiguet's Ancient Art, Evansville, Indiana, USA, acquired prior to January 1, 2010

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#175068

Old losses to butt end. Chips and nicks to blade end. Old inventory numbers written on surface. Light mineral deposits in chipped areas.