Ceremonial Mace (Club) Head: Feline (Jaguar?)
Unknown Artist
c. 300 BCE–600 CE
Medium
stone
Dimensions
8.8 × 7.7 × 10.6 cm
Classification
Stone
Department
Art of the Americas
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
In memory of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Humphreys, gift of their daughter Helen
Accession Number
1949.469
About this artwork
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.