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Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
Ceremonial Mace Head
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
© Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami. All rights reserved.

Ceremonial Mace Head

Artist/Maker (Costa Rica)
Dateca. 1-500
Mediumlimestone
DimensionsOverall: 4 x 3 7/8 x 4 7/8 in. (10.2 x 9.8 x 12.4 cm)
ClassificationsWeapons and Armor
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Terms
    Object number88.0009
    DescriptionMace heads have been called “art-weapons” and “art-tools” because they channeled symbolic information via a utilitarian form. Very common in high status graves, they are tied to the emergence of a ruling class dependent upon agricultural intensification and territorial land claims. The anthropomorphic face of this mace head suggests characteristics of both a human and a monkey, and it may represent a shaman in the process of transformation from human to spirit form. It also shows a very strong similarity to the jaguar mace head, which suggests that they were made by the same artist or were part of the same grave. Together, they demonstrate a social transition during this time period, in which a greater reliance upon powerful people rather than dependence on the natural world determined the prosperity of the group.
    On View
    Not on view
    Collections
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Ceremonial Mace Head
    Greater Nicoya
    ca. 1-500
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Pendant
    Greater Nicoya
    ca. 1-500
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Agricultural Deity or Priest Figure
    Classic Veracruz
    ca. 1200-1400
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Figure
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    not dated
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Ghismonda with the Heart of Guiscardo
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    1520s
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Stirrup-spout Bottle
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    300 BCE-200 CE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    The Critic Smiles
    Jasper Johns
    1966
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Madonna and Child and the Infant Saint John
    Andrea del Sarto
    ca. 1529
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    A Man of New Zealand and A Woman of New Zealand
    Artist Unknown
    1784-1786
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Diadem
    Artist Unknown
    1-700
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Portrait of a Man
    Filippo Mazzola
    ca. 1500
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Mola
    Amaris Velásquez
    ca. 2013
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