The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Seven-Flanged Mace

Seven-Flanged Mace

c. 1540–50
(?)
gilded russet steel; with chiseled foliate decoration
Overall: 64.5 cm (25 3/8 in.); Head: 11.4 cm (4 1/2 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1589
Location: 210A Armor Court

Did You Know?

In use throughout the middle ages, the mace became increasingly popular in the 1400s and 1500s because edged weapons (such as swords) were ineffective against fully developed plate armor.

Description

The mace was primarily a weapon for mounted warriors in both actual combat and courtly contests. For this reason it was regarded as a knightly weapon. Arming oneself with a mace had gradually taken on significance among the nobility and commanding officers. It eventually came to be considered a badge of rank, to be carried by its owner in parades and other ceremonial occasions, as this decorated example certainly was.
  • ?-1916
    Frank Gair Macomber (1849-1941), Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1916-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Catalogue of Arms and Armour. Vol. 2, 16th century. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], [1900-1915]. Mentioned and Reproduced: No. (35) 39 archive.org
    Gilchrist, Helen Ives. A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924. Mentioned: p. 247, K9; Reproduced: Plate XLIX, K9 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Helen Ives Gilchrist. Handbook of the Severance Collection of Arms and Armor. 2d ed., 1948. Reproduction: p. 50 archive.org
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. pp. 95, 168; cat. no. 122, p. 168
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 125, p. 188
  • Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
  • {{cite web|title=Seven-Flanged Mace|url=false|author=|year=c. 1540–50|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1589