A grey-brown metal pole with a top that is made of five visible panels that have detailed cut edges.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

A grey-brown metal pole shown vertically on a white background. The pole is topped with a form that is made of five visible panels that have detailed cut edges. The panels all meet in the center and fan outward. Their edges have small curves at the top and bottom with a large curve in the center. There is a small dome at the very top of the form. The pole goes straight down and is textured with diagonal, swirling lines throughout.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2009.202.63
Title
Flanged Mace
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Massive mace
Classification
Weapons and Ammunition
Work Type
mace
Date
16th-17th century
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/190205

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2590, South Asian Art, South Asia in the Medieval and Early Modern Eras
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Steel with traces of copper
Dimensions
51.5 cm, 4.4 kg (20 1/4 in., 9.7 lb)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Eric Schroeder (by 1971)

Stuart Cary Welch (by 1999 - 2008,) by descent; to his estate (2008-2009,) gift; to Harvard Art Museum.

Notes:
Eric Schroeder died March 27, 1971.
Object was part of temporary loan to Museum in 1999.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Stuart Cary Welch Collection, Gift of Edith I. Welch in memory of Eric Shroeder
Accession Year
2009
Object Number
2009.202.63
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
The head of the mace is comprised of nine steel flanges, with ornamental edges, that are welded to the steel haft. Traces of copper can be found on some of the flanges, suggesting that the mace head may have been gilded. The finial is embossed in the form of a lotus. The haft is made of a single piece of steel with an embossed, twisted pattern.

Publication History

  • Stuart Cary Welch, India, Art and Culture, 1300-1900, exh. cat., Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY, 1985), Page 161/Figure 97

Exhibition History

  • A Decade of Collecting: Recent Acquisitions of Islamic and Later Indian Art, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 06/08/2000 - 09/03/2000
  • 32Q: 2590 South and Southeast Asia, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/06/2019 - 01/01/2050

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu