Monday, 4 November 2013

Iron mace head

 This a rather odd item. It is a Chinese mace head of archaic form. Date of manufacture is uncertain, but given the extent of the patination, I would say that it is not a recent item. I am not aware of other examples that would help to date it. It could be from the Qing dynasty or it could conceivably be much, much earlier. Surprisingly, it is made of cast iron, a material which is notoriously brittle and unsuitable for tool or weapon manufacture. The picture below shows some damage, the most likely cause of this is that the points have chipped off due to impact damage. Possibly suggesting that this mace head has been used to strike with.

Chinese iron mace head of archaic form

Why would a mace head be made in an unsuitable material like cast iron? Well, one can only wonder, perhaps it was a test piece? perhaps it was a decorative item? Whatever the reason, it is a very nicely made item, and much time and care has gone into its manufacture.

Oblique view showing arrangement of 'panels' and points

Irrespective of why it was made, it stands on its own as an inherently beautiful sculptural item.

View through the eye of the mace head

It weighs 360g. It is 60mm in diameter and 40mm tall. The eye is almost perfectly circular, 27mm in diameter. The head would have been mounted on a wooden haft.


 For comparison of form, bronze mace head.
 Reference: ' Zhong Guo Gu Dai Leng Bing Qi'  -  ISBN 978-7-807040-220-6

Bronze mace head

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2 comments:

  1. Peter Dekker5 November 2013 at 17:57

    Very interesting finds! Northern peoples such as the Khitan, Mongols, and Jurchen were said to carry maces to use against the heavy armor of the Chinese of the time.

    The Mongols especially were known for early advancements in decarburized cast iron that was used for weapons manufacture. A development that seemed to have happened right before the conquest period. See: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440306002135

    Cast iron dates from at least the 5th century B.C. and seemed to be preferred for striking weapons because it could handle compression well and was cheaper than forged iron at the time.

    Donald B. Wagner: IRON AND STEEL IN ANCIENT CHINA should have a lot of interesting info but unfortunately it is out of print. I didn't manage to get a copy yet either.

    Very nice item, I love the overall design.

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  2. Graham Cave13 May 2014 at 10:07

    Peter, very interesting that malleable cast iron was made in ancient China!

    In light of your comments, I feel this could well be an early piece.

    Malleable iron is still used today for making "soft' hammers. It is considered safer than other steels because it mushrooms on impact, instead of chipping or splitting.

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