The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 18, 2024
Seven-Flanged Mace
c. 1540–50
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.- ?-1916Frank Gair Macomber (1849-1941), Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art1916-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.orgGilchrist, 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.orgCleveland Museum of Art, and Helen Ives Gilchrist. Handbook of the Severance Collection of Arms and Armor. 2d ed., 1948. Reproduction: p. 50 archive.orgFliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. pp. 95, 168; cat. no. 122, p. 168Fliegel, 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