Walters Art Museum (Egyptian) · tool

Openwork Axe Head with Lion Attack

Walters Art Museum (Egyptian), acc. 54.1514. Public domain (CC0). Copy archived by egyptianinscriptions.org with attribution; original at the holding institution.

Accession: 54.1514
Dynasty: Eighteenth Dynasty
Date: first half 15th century BCE (New Kingdom)
Date range: 1500 BCE – 1450 BCE
Materials: ['cast bronze']
Repository: Walters Art Museum
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Cite & export

Walters Art Museum (Egyptian), Openwork Axe Head with Lion Attack (54.1514). Egyptian Inscriptions Database. https://egyptianinscriptions.org/object/220429

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Description

<p>This openwork axe-head depicts on both its sides a lion seizing a goat by the hindquarters, while the goat turns back to look at the lion. The lion and aoat both possess incised features, and there is some modeling on the faces of the lion. Both of the two longer sides of the axe-head curve inwards, though not to the same degree (the bottom side is curved more than the top), resulting in an asymmetrical axe-head with a skewed cutting end. The handle and cord attaching the axe-head to the handle are modern. There are small orange-like patches on the lion on both sides of the axe-head; there is more on the side where the lion is facing left. There are similar patches on the inside of the border of the axe-head. There appears to be little wear on the cutting surface of the axe-head.</p><p>For the latest information about this object, <cite><a href='https://purl.thewalters.org/art/54.1514' rel='external'>Openwork Axe Head with Lion Attack</a></cite>, visit the Online Collection of the Walters Art Museum.</p>

AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano

Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.

Photograph of an openwork bronze axe head rendered as a tall frame with internal carved/open areas forming an animal attack scene.

The object appears as a vertically oriented openwork cast-bronze axe head with a thick outer border and pierced interior. The outer silhouette is roughly arched at the top and narrows slightly toward the base. Inside the openwork, a central, raised/relief element suggests a crouched or lunging animal figure, surrounded by additional cut-out shapes that could indicate a second figure or dynamic “attack” composition. No clear hieroglyphic signs or cartouches are visible in the interior apertures or on the outer frame. The surface shows speckling/rough texture consistent with casting, and the outer rim is worn/oxidized in the photograph.

decorative unknown (Egyptian Late Period/Greco-Roman styling possible but not confidently determinable from this image alone) good

Materials cast bronze

Connections

Materials Cast Bronze

Cross-references (2)

Walters-AccNum 54.1514 tier-2
Walters-id 29987 tier-2

About this record's data

From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Walters Art Museum (Egyptian).
AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.