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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
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
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Greater Nicoya
    ca. 1-500
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Greater Nicoya
    ca. 1-500
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Classic Veracruz
    ca. 1200-1400
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Dakakari people
    not dated
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Tumaco-La Tolita
    300 BCE-200 CE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Olmec
    ca. 1500-400 BCE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Jasper Johns
    1966
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Huari
    650-800
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Huari
    650-800