EXTRAORDINARY INDIAN CEREMONIAL MACE

Probably 19th century. This mace accords with a group of silvered lion head maces brought out of India in the early 1980s by a Birmingham England dealer and advertised internationally as well as offered at auction. This example is about twice the size of those and to our knowledge, no other example exists. The task of producing such an item by hand is staggering, requiring a great many hours of an artist highly skills in repoussé. Starting with flat sheet brass, every detail of relief work including the fully modeled tiger head, was hammered out from the inside to the final shape. In addition to the actual modeling, the artisan repeatedly annealed the work, as brass hardens when it is worked and becomes brittle. Annealing caused distortion which must be taken into account and compensated for. The final silver overlay provides a fine finish over the meticulously polished surface. Shown with a German mace of 1550 for size comparison. At 40 1/4", this is a show stopper and could be the center piece for a fine collection.