Wrought-iron hatchet, command staff, pierced, chased and engraved. Décor composed of an arrangement of various figures: a grotesque face with scrolls on one side and a mask in a cartouche on the other; a bearded, leafy head in profile, a crouching feline and a figure with bent legs playing a wind instrument, with a wide, curved cutting edge. Ash handle. Southern Italy, Naples ? mid-17th century H. 13.5 cm - L. 55 cm (mounted upside down, old handle) This rare hatchet is a fine piece of metalwork. The Musée de l'Armée in Paris has a comparable example in its collections, with an iron with the same type of bent-legged figure, mounted with a later system handle (Inv. K 73). A recent notice states that this type of hatchet was probably used as a naval command baton by Italian admirals in the 17th century. For example, one can be seen on a still life by Peter Boel, a Flemish artist active in Naples around 1650 (fig.).