Mace Head
ca. 4000-3400 B.C.E.
Maker Unknown
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
Masterpieces of Stone Carving
During the Predynastic Period, Egyptians mastered the working of even the hardest stone.
They especially favored attractively colored stones, like the porphyry, breccia, and obsidian shown here. To create the mace head (war club) and jar in this case, an artisan laboriously ground and polished the stones with increasingly fine abrasives. A method called flaking—carefully applying pressure with another stone—produced the serrated obsidian object.
During the Predynastic Period, Egyptians mastered the working of even the hardest stone.
They especially favored attractively colored stones, like the porphyry, breccia, and obsidian shown here. To create the mace head (war club) and jar in this case, an artisan laboriously ground and polished the stones with increasingly fine abrasives. A method called flaking—carefully applying pressure with another stone—produced the serrated obsidian object.
- Maker/Artist
- Maker Unknown
- Classification
- Arms and Armor
- Formatted Medium
- Porphyry
- Medium
- porphyry
- Locations
- Possible place collected: El Ma'mariya, Egypt, Possible place collected: Adaima, Egypt, Possible place collected: el Ma'mariya, Egypt
- Dimensions
- 15/16 x 3 9/16 in. (2.4 x 9.1 cm)
- Accession Number
- 07.447.873
- Credit Line
- Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
- Exhibitions
- Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, Ancient Egyptian Art
- Rights Statement
- Creative Commons-BY
- Museum Location
- Pre-Dynastic, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor
Have a concern, a correction, or something to add?
