Tim’s sculpture on show with Stone Age axeheads
A new exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh is showcasing a rarely seen collection of Scottish Stone Age jade axeheads, alongside Arran artist Tim Pomeroy’s contemporary sculpture, Axehead.
These exquisite axeheads were created over 6,000 years ago, high in the Italian Alps, and were brought to Scotland by pioneering farming groups from northern France.
Now, thanks to a Frenchled project involving National Museums Scotland – Projet Jade – the fascinating story of their creation, use and astonishing 1,500 km journey to Scotland has been revealed.
These were not everyday tools for felling trees and chopping wood. They were very special, ceremonial objects.
It is believed that neolithic people associated mountains with the realm of the gods and they may have felt that these hard-won pieces of mountains possessed divine powers to protect and heal. Passing through many hands on their way across Europe and treasured for generations, each jade axehead tells its own unique story.
Axehead, a stone sculpture carved by Tim Pomeroy, one of Britain’s foremost stone carvers, was inspired by these remarkable archaeological finds and was designed to reflect their power, status and ceremonial or spiritual purpose.
Tim said: ‘These Stone Age jade axeheads are works of both immense skill and of a highly developed, visual, manual and spiritual sophistication. As an artist I am inspired by these qualities. I have always been interested in notions of utility, the sacred and power, and how these properties combine within the contexts of art and ritual.’
Dr Alison Sheridan, principal curator of early prehistory in the department of Scottish History and Archaeology, said: ‘We are delighted to have this opportunity to tell the stories behind these extraordinary jade axeheads for the first time.
‘Tim Pomeroy’s exquisite sculpture will complement the display and highlight the ways in which these ancient and precious artefacts continue to inspire and fascinate us today.’
The exhibition is on at National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh until October 30. Admission is free.