Pear-Shaped Macehead

Possible OriginEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodPredynastic

Dateca. 3500-3350 BCE

MediumLimestone

Credit LineGift of the Georges Ricard Foundation

Dimensions2 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 in., 350 g (6.3 x 6.4 x 6.4 cm, 12 3/8 oz.)

Object number2018.010.823

Label TextMace heads reflected the power of the king. They were mounted on a pole and used as a weapon in life and to maintain the order of the cosmos in death.
Exhibition HistoryLife and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 4 - August 6, 2023
Published ReferencesHotel des Ventes du Prado, Marseille, Objets de Fouille et de Haute Curiosite Monnaies Antiques de Bronze, Argent et Or (1er Decembre 1973), lot 3Bis.
Melinda K. Hartwig, ed., Life and The Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2023), catalogue entry 63.

ProvenancePurchased by Georges Ricard (1921-2012) from Hotel des Ventes du Prado, Marseille, France, December 1, 1973, lot 3Bis. Ex coll. Musée de l'Égypte et le Monde Antique, Collection Sanousrit, Monaco, 1975-1982. Ex coll. Georges Ricard Foundation, Santa Barbara, California.

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