Ceremonial Axe 14th-16th century

This ceremonial axe was crafted by the Fort Ancient people. The axe, a symbol deeply embedded in the human psyche, speaks of power and authority. It embodies a dual nature: destruction and creation, death and transformation. Across millennia, the axe motif appears in Minoan Crete as a double-headed labrys, in ancient Rome as a fasces, and in Norse mythology as the weapon of gods. Consider the labrys: what began as a symbol of female divinity transformed into a symbol of state power. How does an object of devotion become an emblem of force? Our collective memory and subconscious desires imprint themselves onto symbols, giving them the power to evoke intense emotional states. The symbol of the axe is not fixed, but constantly evolving. It represents the cyclical nature of power, continually resurfacing, reformed, and imbued with new meanings across time.