Code: 2746
Description: A good-sized mottled grey flint awl with an oblique point, some cortex remaining on one side but a nice example of this type of tool, found North Stow, near Bury Saint Edmunds, Suffolk.
Size: 84 mm/3.3 ins. in length
Culture: Neolithic
Date: c. 2000-3500 B.C.
Provenance: Ex Dr. H.A. Fawcett Collection with his collectors mark. Ex F.S. Clark Collection, Woking, Surrey, with his collectors mark.
Background: Dr. Hugh Alderson Fawcett (1891-1982) was a general practitioner and antiquarian who built up an important collection of ancient implements, weapons and ornaments that eventually numbered some eight thousand items. It was he who alerted the British Museum to the discovery of the fabulous Mildenhall treasure after being shown it by Sydney Ford during Easter in 1946. The bulk of his collection is now in the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, but Fawcett previously sold or traded many pieces in order to improve his collection. His distinctive monogram and careful recording of provenance makes his pieces readily identifiable.
Fred Sydney Clark (1923-2016) ran the Old Curiosity Shoppe, The Quadrant, Onslow Street, Guildford, Surrey, in the 1970’s-1980’s selling a range of collectables. A passionate collector and field-walker, he built up a fine collection of antiquities, notable for British prehistoric items, a significant number of which he obtained through trade with Dr. H.A. Fawcett. Like Fawcett, he was meticulous in documenting his collection, even the most humble tools were catalogued and fully labelled with locality, accession number and his characteristic monogram.
