A Costa Rican Marble Bird Mace Head, Greater Nicoya, Period IV, ca. 300 - 500 CE
A Costa Rican Marble Bird Mace Head, Greater Nicoya, Period IV, ca. 300 - 500 CE
A Costa Rican Marble Bird Mace Head, Greater Nicoya, Period IV, ca. 300 - 500 CE
A Costa Rican Marble Bird Mace Head, Greater Nicoya, Period IV, ca. 300 - 500 CE
A Costa Rican Marble Bird Mace Head, Greater Nicoya, Period IV, ca. 300 - 500 CE
A Costa Rican Marble Bird Mace Head, Greater Nicoya, Period IV, ca. 300 - 500 CE
A Costa Rican Marble Bird Mace Head, Greater Nicoya, Period IV, ca. 300 - 500 CE
A Costa Rican Marble Bird Mace Head, Greater Nicoya, Period IV, ca. 300 - 500 CE
A Costa Rican Marble Bird Mace Head, Greater Nicoya, Period IV, ca. 300 - 500 CE
A Costa Rican Marble Bird Mace Head, Greater Nicoya, Period IV, ca. 300 - 500 CE

A Costa Rican Marble Bird Mace Head, Greater Nicoya, Period IV, ca. 300 - 500 CE

PX2101

$1,200 USD
/
  • This object qualifies for free USA shipping and a flat rate fee of $60 if shipping internationally.

Carved from smooth white marble, the round body with a stylized bird head featuring an elongated beak gently carved to indicate a mouth and a raised double head crest along the top of the head.

Used as a symbolic object rather than a functional one, mace heads of this type occur in many different materials, sizes, and subjects. Found in most high-status graves, mace heads most probably served as identifiers of the person's clan or family through a corresponding animal, human, or geometric shape. There is an extraordinary variety of shapes -- birds, bats, coyotes, human faces, owls, snakes, monkeys, and basket weaves, to name a few. While each piece is unique and stylized in its own way, there is a similarity in shape that would have allowed each member of the clan to be easily recognized. Graves with owl-shaped mace heads, for example, would be easily recognizable as members of the owl clan. 

Stone-Miller, Rebecca, Seeing with New Eyes: Highlights of the Michael C. Carlos Museum, Atlanta: Emory University (2002), pp 144-5.

Dimensions: Height: 2 1/4 inches  (5.5 cm), Length: 2 7/8 inches (7.3 cm)

Condition: With several hairline cracks along the surface, overall intact and in good condition. Custom mounted.

Provenance: Private NY collection. Previously in the collection of Marianne and Robert Huber, Dixon, Illinois.

Sands of Time provides a lifetime, unconditional guarantee of authenticity and provenance. Every object you purchase from us is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity, stating culture, provenance, and age.

Furthermore, we conduct due diligence to ensure the item, to the best of our knowledge, has not been illegally obtained from an excavation, architectural monument, public institution, or private property. Wherever possible, reference is made to existing collections or publications.Wherever possible, reference is made to existing collections or publications.

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