An Elamite Bronze Macehead, Akkadian Period, Late 3rd millennium BCE
MX2402
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cast using the lost wax process, the slender, hollow bronze tube decorated in its upper half with interspersed knob elements in raised relief, the whole framed by horizontal ridges. Another unit of horizontal ridges is set below the lower plain half just above the splayed base. Three ridges run near the base and below the knob elements. The base flange is pierced for attachment to a wood shaft.
Background: According to Muscarella, (Bronze and Iron. Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, 1988), p. 391), objects such as this are considered to be cudgels or maces rather than handles for scepters, a use which suggests itself from the shape. Probably ceremonial in use, these mace heads may have been mounted on a shaft as a symbol of rank; perhaps derivative from a true weapon of similar form. Related parallels to this piece have been excavated at Susa and Tello and several others from private collections.
See: Calmeyer, Peter. Datierbare Bronzen Aus Luristan Und Kirmanshah. (De Gruyter, 1969) Moorey, P.R.S., Catalogue of the Ancient Persian Bronzes in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford, 1971), Muscarella, Oscar White, Bronze and Iron. Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, 1988).
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: Height: 6 inches (15.1 cm)
Condition:
Provenance: Raymond A. Davis (1931 - 2018), California, private collection acquired in 2000 from Bustamante Antiques show at Fort Mason in San Francisco from Time and Again antiques.
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