The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 18, 2024
Mace Head
300–500 CE
Overall: 4.2 x 7.3 x 13.6 cm (1 5/8 x 2 7/8 x 5 3/8 in.)
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
In ancient Costa Rica, it was believed that the world rested on the back of a crocodile.Description
Once mounted on wooden shafts, elaborately shaped mace (club) heads like this one probably were not used as weapons. Rather, they could have served as emblems of chiefly authority, group insignia, the heads of ceremonial weapons, or all three. They eventually were placed in elite graves. The back-curled nose on this example may refer to a crocodile or caiman.- Joseph or Ronald Dammann, Los Angeles, CA, given to James C. and Florence C. Gruener?-1990James C. [1903-1990] and Florence C. [1908-1982] Gruener, Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art1990The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Young-Sánchez, Margaret. "The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 79, no. 7 (1992): 234-75. p. 274, no. 121 www.jstor.org
- {{cite web|title=Mace Head|url=false|author=|year=300–500 CE|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1990.165