Export bar on British Jadeite axe-head

Export bar placed on Neolithic 'Jadeite' axe-head
http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/002286.html

British Culture Minister, David Lammy, has placed a
temporary export bar on a 'jadeite' Neolithic axe-head
that once formed part of the collection of one of the
fathers of British archaeology. This will provide a last
chance to raise the money to keep the axe-head, which
dates from before 4000 BCE, in the United Kingdom.

The Minister's ruling follows a recommendation by the
Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and
Objects of Cultural Interest, run by the Museums,
Libraries and Archives Council. The Committee
recommended that the export decision be deferred on
the grounds that the axe-head is so closely connected
with British history and national life that its departure
would be a misfortune, of outstanding aesthetic
importance and of outstanding significance for the study
of Neolithic Britain.

Found near Sturminster Marshall, this Neolithic axe-
head is a particularly fine specimen, beautifully shaped
and polished, which shows off with considerable
sophistication the tonalities and gradations of the fine
hard 'jadeite' stone from which it is manufactured. Its
importance is further enhanced by the fact that it once
formed part of the historic collection of Lt-General
Augustus Pitt Rivers, now recognised as one of the
fathers of British archaeology.

Such axes were never functional, but were already high
status 'heirlooms' when they reached Britain around
6000 years ago, having been made some centuries
before from rock quarried in the Italian Alps. New
research is contributing much to our understanding of
them and their meaning in the lives of those who made
and acquired them.

The decision on the export licence application for the
axe-head will be deferred for a period ending on 20 April
inclusive. This period may be extended until 20 July
inclusive if a serious intention to raise funds with a view
to making an offer to purchase the axe-head at the
recommended price of £24,000 (excluding VAT) is
expressed. Anyone interested in making an offer to
purchase the axe-head should contact the owner's agent
through: The Secretary, The Reviewing Committee on
the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural
Interest, Museums, Libraries and Archives Council -
Victoria House, Southampton Row, London WC1B 4EA
(UK).

Source: UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport (23
February 2007)


Wikipedia:
Lieutenant-General Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt
Rivers (14th April, 1827-4 May 1900) was an English
officer, ethnologist, and archaeologist. He was noted for
his innovations in archaeological methods, and in the
museum display of archaeological and collections.

1882 Pitt Rivers served as Britain's first Inspector of
Ancient Monuments: a post created by anthropologist
and parliamentarian John Lubbock who was married to
Pitt-Rivers' daughter, Alice. Charged with cataloging
archaeological sites and protecting them from
destruction, he worked with his customary methodical
zeal but was hampered by the limitations of the law,
which gave him little real power over the landowners on
whose property the sites stood.

The same limitations of the law allowed him to
take possession of this axe-head.

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p.a.

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