Objekt 2104
The oldest ‘Basler’
Description
This 3,000-year-old bronze knife is decorated with a human head, which
is regarded as the oldest human figure in Switzerland. For a culture that
neither left written sources nor depictions of deities, this is extraordinary.
The first settlements along the river Rhine near Basel developed during the
Bronze Age, proof that the once so mighty glacial river with its numerous
tributaries had settled down and found its course. The knife originates
from the North and bears witness to already extensive trade links.
Object description
Knife with human head
Schleswig-Holstein or Denmark, site: Basel-Voltaplatz, Bronze Age, 10th century BCE
bronze
donated by the Delegation für die antiquarischen Funde, Basel
Inv. 1912.98.