The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Ceremonial Mace (Club) Head: Feline (Jaguar?)

c. 300 BCE–600 CE

Costa Rica, Southern Nicoya region

stone
Overall: 8.8 x 7.7 x 10.6 cm (3 7/16 x 3 1/16 x 4 3/16 in.)
In memory of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Humphreys, gift of their daughter Helen 1949.469
Location: 233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region

Description

Probably once mounted on wooden shafts, these objects could have served as symbols of chiefly authority, group insignia, the heads of ceremonial weapons, or all three. They eventually were placed in elite graves. The bird may be a male curassow and the feline, a jaguar.
  • Milliken, William. "Pre-Columbian Accessions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 37, no. 1 (January 1950): 10-11, 14-16. Reproduced: p. 10; Mentioned: p. 15 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 294 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 294 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 398
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 10 archive.org
  • Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).
    Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; June 7- September 8, 1991. "Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum."
    Treasures of Peruvian Gold. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 23-April 3, 1966).
    Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; February 23-April 3, 1966. "Treasures of Peruvian Gold."
    35th Anniversary Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 20-September 30, 1951).
  • {{cite web|title=Ceremonial Mace (Club) Head: Feline (Jaguar?)|url=false|author=|year=c. 300 BCE–600 CE|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1949.469