The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 6, 2023

Mace Head

300–500

Costa Rica

Pecked and polished gray stone

Overall: 4.2 x 7.3 x 13.6 cm (1 5/8 x 2 7/8 x 5 3/8 in.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener 1990.165

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

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.

Provenance
Joseph or Ronald Dammann, Los Angeles, CA, given to James C. and Florence C. Gruener
?-1990
James C. [1903-1990] and Florence C. [1908-1982] Gruener, Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1990
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Citations
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
Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1990.165