Images(3)

Goosewing Axe

Date1700-1800

OriginEurope, Germany

MediumIron, steel and wood

DimensionsOverall: 8 1/4 × 24 5/8 × 1 1/2 in (20.9 × 62.6 × 3.8cm)
Blade: 14 5/8" x 8"

Credit LineBequest of Stephen C. Wolcott

Object number1936-338 (W)

DescriptionHewing axe of so-called "goosewing" form with a rectangular socket, partially reinforced on its back and a tapering offset blade. Two large rivets reinforce the steel-edged iron blade. The handle and socket are canted to allow the blade to cut flat, and there is a raised rib, chiseled to resemble rope, where the blade meets the socket.Label TextNamed for the blade’s resemblance to the wing of a goose in flight, axes of this distinct form originated in what is now Germany. Tools of this sort are thought to have arrived in America with immigrants coming from central Europe during the colonial period.Mark(s)Illegible mark struck into the blade face near its junction with the socket.ProvenanceFrom the collection of Stephen C. Wolcott (1876-1934) of Gloucester, Virginia.