Creative Commons License
Mace Head
(South Arabia)
This mace terminates in a young bull's head. The ornaments on the forehead--a star and crescent moon--the eyes, and the decorative semicircles on the jaws were once inlaid; remnants of bitumen and shell (?) inlay remain in the eye. The size and ornamentation of the mace indicates that it was used for ceremonial purposes in a palace or temple rather than as a weapon.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Dikran Kelekian, Paris and New York, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2008 | Faces of Ancient Arabia: The Giraud and Carolyn Foster Collection of South Arabian Art. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Arabian Peninsula (Place of Origin)
Measurements
3 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. (8.9 x 14 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
21.14