Mace (bludgeon)
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A mace is a blunt weapon, a type of club or virge that uses a heavy head on the end of a handle to deliver powerful strikes. A mace typically consists of a strong, heavy, wooden or metal shaft, often reinforced with metal, featuring a head made of stone, bone, copper, bronze, iron, or steel.
A mural of Bhima with his mace
Disc-shaped stone macehead, Egypt, Naqada culture
Moche stone maces. Larco Museum Collection (Lima-Peru)
Narmer Macehead
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The Narmer macehead is an ancient Egyptian decorative stone mace head. It was found in the "main deposit" in the temple area of the ancient Egyptian city of Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) by James Quibell in 1898. It is dated to the Early Dynastic Period reign of king Narmer whose serekh is engraved on it. The macehead is now kept at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
The Narmer Macehead (back). The name of Narmer appears in the serekh at the top.
Illustrations on the Narmer Macehead
Narmer Macehead (drawing). The design shows captives being presented to Pharaoh Narmer enthroned in a naos. The scene depicts a ceremony in which captives and plunder are presented to King Narmer, who is enthroned beneath a canopy on a stepped platform. He wears the Red Crown of Lower Egypt, holds a flail, and is wrapped in a long cloak. To the left, Narmer's name is written inside a representation of the palace facade (the serekh) surmounted by a falcon. At the bottom is a record of animal and human plunder; 400,000 cattle, 1,422,000 goats, and 120,000 captives.
The Narmer macehead (right) at time of discovery, Hierakonpolis