Acheulean Flint Handaxe With Hole

Formerly in the collection of artist Tony Berlant (b. 1941).

With EU license 2025DMF0222 permitting export, issued by the French Ministry of Culture

First Sculpture: Handaxe to Figure Stone. 27 January - 29 April 2018. Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas.

The Origins of Sculpture. 27 September 2023 - 7 January 2024. Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece.

Berlant, Tony, and Thomas Wynn. First Sculpture: Handaxe to Figure Stone. Nasher Sculpture Center, 2018, Cat. 41.

Galanidou, Nena, et al., editors. The Origins of Sculpture: Archaeological Finds from the Old World and Lesbos 2.5 Million to 50,000 Years Before Present. University of Crete/Benaki Museum, 2023, Cat. 57.

A REMARKABLY SCULPTURAL PALEOLITHIC HANDAXE KNAPPED AROUND A NATURAL HOLE

Among the earliest surviving artifacts made by human hands, Paleolithic handaxes provide a remarkable window into the history of material culture. Fine examples such as this one appear to have been created not only for utilitarian purposes, but also with sensibility towards form, balance, and aesthetics.

The present example is compelling in the way it has been worked around a natural hole within the flint. Positioned prominently at the center of the axe, this feature seems to have been deliberately preserved and framed by the maker. As with other examples in which natural features are retained, this decision would have introduced a degree of structural compromise, suggesting that visual effect was of key importance to its maker.

The result is an object in which natural formation and human intervention are closely intertwined. The maker has not simply imposed form upon the material, but has responded to an existing feature, incorporating it into the overall design of the tool. This sensitivity to the character of the stone is a defining quality of the most refined Acheulean handaxes.

Its inclusion in both the Nasher Sculpture Center’s landmark 2018 exhibition First Sculpture: Handaxe to Figure Stone and the Benaki Museum’s The Origins of Sculpture underscores its importance within the wider discussion surrounding the role of aesthetic awareness in early human technology.

While undoubtedly a functional object, handaxes such as this invite a broader reading: they suggest that even at this early stage, toolmakers were attentive not only to efficiency, but also to form, symmetry, and the visual qualities inherent in the material itself.