A processional mining tool

A processional mining tool. From Saxony. Carved wooden handle with metal head, spiked at one end. The carving is broken into eight sections, with a variety of images depicted including five of flowers, one of a person, one of two people working and the final one is a coat of arms.

Axes, such as these, were traditionally borne in procession as emblematic of their calling by the members of the miners' guilds in Saxony, Germany. They are all dated between 1664 and 1749, and the handles are engraved with views of mining operations.