The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of August 13, 2022

Ceremonial Mace (Club) Head: Feline (Jaguar?)

c. 300 BC - AD 600

Costa Rica, Southern Nicoya region, 4th century BC - AD 7th century

Stone

Overall: 8.8 x 7.7 x 10.6 cm (3 7/16 x 3 1/16 x 4 3/16 in.)

In memory of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Humphreys, gift of their daughter Helen 1949.469

Location

233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region

Description

Probably once mounted on wooden shafts, these objects could have served as symbols of chiefly authority, group insignia, the heads of ceremonial weapons, or all three. They eventually were placed in elite graves. The bird may be a male curassow and the feline, a jaguar.

Citations
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 294 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 294 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 398
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 10 archive.org
Exhibition history

Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; February 23-April 3, 1966. "Treasures of Peruvian Gold."

Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; June 7- September 8, 1991. "Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum."

35th Anniversary Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 20-September 30, 1951).

Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1949.469