LOT 1337

Western Asiatic Stone Macehead

4TH MILLENNIUM B.C.

3 1/8 in. (360 grams, 81 mm).

Oval in plan with a tapering drilled central socket.

Ex private collection, Contessa L.G., since the 1980s.
Private collection, acquired in 1999.

Cf. Gorelik, M., Weapons of Ancient East, IV millennium BC-IV century BC, Saint Petersburg, 2003, pl.XXX, no.15, for similar example from Mesopotamia.

The mace was a close-combat weapon consisting of a short handle and a massive striking element—the head, a striking weapon capable of inflicting severe contusions and internal fractures. Although a very archaic and rather primitive weapon, the mace was nevertheless widely used in the ancient East. Its sacred and representative role was particularly significant. Due to its shape, it symbolised the owner's masculinity and was therefore one of the primary insignia of power, symbolising the inseparability of its civil, military, and sacred-magical essences—ensuring the functioning and reproduction of the collective and the conditions for its existence. This is why we so often encounter ‘ceremonial’ maces, especially those made of stone—in this case, undoubtedly a ritual material. However, it must be said that stone, as a material for a mace head, was in no way inferior to metal in terms of combat qualities, while being much more labour-intensive to manufacture, which was precisely what appealed to the ritual, symbolic role of this weapon.