A processional mining tool

A processional mining tool. From Saxony. Carved wooden handle with metal head, spiked at one end. Detailed carved handle broken into eight slightly different sized sections, the bottom one depicting flowers and then the rest are depicting scenes with people.

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.