The Minister's ruling follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, run by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. The Committee recommended that the export decision be deferred on the grounds that the axe-head is so closely connected with our history and national life that its departure would be a misfortune, of outstanding aesthetic importance and of outstanding significance for the study of Neolithic Britain.
Found near Sturminster Marshall, this Neolithic axe-head is one of only a hundred or so examples known from this country. It is a particularly fine specimen, beautifully shaped and polished, which shows off with considerable sophistication the tonalities and gradations of the fine hard 'jadeite' stone from which it is manufactured. Its importance is further enhanced by the fact that it once formed part of the historic collection of Lt-General Augustus Pitt Rivers, now recognised as one of the fathers of British archaeology.
Such axes were never functional, but were already high status 'heirlooms' when they reached Britain around 6000 years ago, having been made some centuries before from rock quarried in the Italian Alps. New research is contributing much to our understanding of them and their meaning in the lives of those who made and acquired them.
The decision on the export licence application for the axe-head will be deferred for a period ending on 20 April inclusive. This period may be extended until 20 July inclusive if a serious intention to raise funds with a view to making an offer to purchase the axe-head at the recommended price of £24,000 (excluding VAT) is expressed. -- www.mla.gov.uk
Posted February 24th, 2007 by ruzik_tuzik
