A processional mining tool

A processional mining tool. From Saxony. Carved wooden handle with metal head, spiked at one end. Carved handle is mostly dark wood with some lighter carved areas. There is some form of coat of arms at the bottom, then there are three other sections up the handle with names carved alongside some other detailed carving.

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.