id:			155437
accession number:	1990.165
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1990.165
updated:		2023-03-14 12:01:41.698000

Mace Head, 300–500. Costa Rica. Pecked and polished gray stone; overall: 4.2 x 7.3 x 13.6 cm (1 5/8 x 2 7/8 x 5 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener 1990.165

title:				Mace Head
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			300–500
creation date earliest:		300
creation date latest:		500
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener
copyright:			

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culture:	Costa Rica
technique:	pecked and polished gray stone
department:	Art of the Americas
collection:	AA - Intermediate Region
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 4.2 x 7.3 x 13.6 cm (1 5/8 x 2 7/8 x 5 3/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Joseph or Ronald Dammann, Los Angeles, CA, given to James C. and Florence C. Gruener
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	James C. [1903-1990] and Florence C. [1908-1982] Gruener, Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?-1990
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: 1990
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
In ancient Costa Rica, it was believed that the world rested on the back of a crocodile.

digital description:
Once mounted on wooden shafts, elaborately shaped mace (club) heads like this one probably were not used as weapons. Rather, they could have served as emblems of chiefly authority, group insignia, the heads of ceremonial weapons, or all three. They eventually were placed in elite graves. The back-curled nose on this example may refer to a crocodile or caiman.

wall description:

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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Young-Sánchez, Margaret. "The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 79, no. 7 (1992): 234-75.
	page number: 	p. 274, no. 121
	url:		https://www.jstor.org/stable/25161367

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1990.165/1990.165_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1990.165/1990.165_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1990.165/1990.165_full.tif