Egyptian Predynastic Alabaster Mace Head, Lotus Bud Form
North Africa, Egypt, Predynastic period, ca. 3600–3100 BCE. A swelling piriform mace head worked from creamy banded alabaster, its body carved as a closed lotus bud whose broad petals rise in shallow relief from the rounded base toward the flattened crown. The hourglass haft perforation runs the full height, its rims softened by wear, and the stone retains a warm honeyed mottling with drifts of milky calcite. Mace heads of this class began as functional weapons in the late Predynastic Nile Valley but rapidly became emblems of authority, the pharaonic gesture of smiting held in Egyptian art for three millennia. The lotus, opening at dawn and closing at dusk, carried associations of solar renewal and rebirth, making the form as likely ceremonial as martial. Presented on a custom acrylic display mount. Size: 2.73" H x 2.5" Diam (6.9 cm H x 6.4 cm Diam); Size of stand: 7.5" H x 2.04" W x 1.85" D (19.1 cm H x 5.2 cm W x 4.7 cm D).
The mace was the defining weapon of the late Predynastic elite, and its evolution is unusually legible in the archaeological record: the flat disc heads of Naqada I give way to the heavier pear-shaped (piriform) forms of Naqada II and III, a shape better suited to crushing than cutting. By the threshold of the First Dynasty the object had shed most of its practical function. The great ceremonial mace heads of Scorpion and Narmer, found in the Main Deposit at Hierakonpolis, are carved from limestone and alabaster and covered in relief narrative, objects meant for the temple rather than the battlefield.
Alabaster (travertine, or calcite alabaster) was quarried at Hatnub and in the Wadi Gerrawi and prized for the translucency that gives the stone its luminous depth. Working a haft channel through it with copper and stone-tipped drills fed by abrasive sand was slow, exacting labor, which is precisely why the finished object announced status.
Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection acquired from Hampton Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, 2026; ex-Economos Works of Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, acquired between 1989 and 2004
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #204434
Condition
Weathering and abrasions as shown with some chipping in areas. Otherwise, very nice with good remaining detail and rich earthen deposits.
North Africa, Egypt, Predynastic period, ca. 3600–3100 BCE. A swelling piriform mace head worked from creamy banded alabaster, its body carved as a closed lotus bud whose broad petals rise in shallow relief from the rounded base toward the flattened crown. The hourglass haft perforation runs the full height, its rims softened by wear, and the stone retains a warm honeyed mottling with drifts of milky calcite. Mace heads of this class began as functional weapons in the late Predynastic Nile Valley but rapidly became emblems of authority, the pharaonic gesture of smiting held in Egyptian art for three millennia. The lotus, opening at dawn and closing at dusk, carried associations of solar renewal and rebirth, making the form as likely ceremonial as martial. Presented on a custom acrylic display mount. Size: 2.73" H x 2.5" Diam (6.9 cm H x 6.4 cm Diam); Size of stand: 7.5" H x 2.04" W x 1.85" D (19.1 cm H x 5.2 cm W x 4.7 cm D).
The mace was the defining weapon of the late Predynastic elite, and its evolution is unusually legible in the archaeological record: the flat disc heads of Naqada I give way to the heavier pear-shaped (piriform) forms of Naqada II and III, a shape better suited to crushing than cutting. By the threshold of the First Dynasty the object had shed most of its practical function. The great ceremonial mace heads of Scorpion and Narmer, found in the Main Deposit at Hierakonpolis, are carved from limestone and alabaster and covered in relief narrative, objects meant for the temple rather than the battlefield.
Alabaster (travertine, or calcite alabaster) was quarried at Hatnub and in the Wadi Gerrawi and prized for the translucency that gives the stone its luminous depth. Working a haft channel through it with copper and stone-tipped drills fed by abrasive sand was slow, exacting labor, which is precisely why the finished object announced status.
Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection acquired from Hampton Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, 2026; ex-Economos Works of Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, acquired between 1989 and 2004
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #204434
Condition
Weathering and abrasions as shown with some chipping in areas. Otherwise, very nice with good remaining detail and rich earthen deposits.
