AN EARLY 19TH CENTURY NAVAL BOARDING AXE
possibly Danish, the flat blade flared to the front and spiked to the rear, the head bears illegible makers mark, on the oval profile wood haft embossed with '1811', 42cm overall
Note: You must be over 18 to purchase this item. By bidding on an edged weapon you are declaring that you are 18 years of age or over.
| Estimate: |
£300 - £600
|
|
Hammer price:
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£380 |
Bidding ended. Lot has been sold.
This axe is very similar to the example in the Washington's Headquarters Museum, as donated by the Watervliet Arsenal in 1850 (along with other cutlasses and items from the period of the 1812). This had been taken from a British ship at the Battle of Lake Erie (1813) and has been authenticated as being Danish in origin. It is a distinct possibility that many items of warfare were seized from Denmark by the British during the capture of Copenhagen in 1807 and transferred to the Tower and redistributed to the British.
In addition the head is fixed by the standard method common to Scandinavian axes, whereby long iron langets fit through the rectangular axe head boss and are secured to the shaft by screws.
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