OA002 - PIRIFORM PRE-DYNASTIC ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ALABASTER STONE MACE HEAD

Product Description

ITEM # 

OA002

ID

Mace

FOUND

Egypt (ex-European private collection)

AGE

PRE-DYNASTIC:  3600 - 3100 B.C.

SIZE

1.85" high

CONDITION

INTACT WITH NO REPAIR OR RESTORATION.  
MICROSCOPIC SEDIMENT IN RECESSES
(ONLY SEEN IN AUTHENTIC SPECIMENS.)

NOTE

VERY RARE, COMPLETE WITH STAND.

INCLUDES STAND - Actual Item - One Only

Comes with a certificate of authenticity / information sheet

The mace is a very primary weapon requiring no skill or special training and its effectiveness is obvious.  Stone mace heads were first used in Pre-Dynastic Egypt in the 4th millennium B.C..  Earliest examples resemble discoidal-shaped stones ground and drilled to be mounted on a wooden handle.  Maces were used in combat both on foot and in chariots and horseback extensively in Egypt and neighboring Canaan.  This weapon was most effective on unarmored or lightly armored foes.  Upon the advent of bronze, bronze armor and helmets became commonly worn during combat and as a result, the stone mace became much less effective as the stone heads shattered upon impact with the metal armor.   Egyptians mace design included a sharper-edged disk shape in the Predynastic Period (about 3850-3650 BC) in order to increase penetration and impact force effectiveness but this design eventually became replaced in the Nagada II Period of 3600 - 3250  B.C. in Upper Egypt, with an inverted pear-shaped (piriform) design continuing in use throughout the Naqada III Period (3250-3100 BC).  Similar mace heads were also used in Mesopotamia around 2450-1900 BC. 

This is an INTACT and COMPLETE drilled Egyptian stone mace head made of alabaster dating to the 4th millennium B.C..  It is of the later PIRIFORM shape and despite its reduced size, was likely a very deadly weapon when used on a moving chariot or running horse against a stationary enemy.  Surface preservation is excellent with fine banding in the stone and translucency.  Mineral and original soil traces deep in crevices and patina over grinding marks are traits ONLY found on AUTHENTIC specimens like this.  Custom made museum stand recreates the shaft of the original handle making for an impressive display.  What appears to be a crack is not but is a natural vein in the original alabaster stone.  NO RESTORATION, NO REPAIR  and NO MODERN DAMAGE.

Ancient stone tools and weapons from Pre-Dynastic and Ancient Egypt are extremely rare as a result of strict Egyptian laws in place now protecting and preventing all export of such artifacts.  This VERY RARE specimen is one of only a very limited number we will ever occasionally have to offer.  Be wary of modern copies that have been around for many decades and sold to unsuspecting tourists and brought back as an "authentic" piece, now littering numerous old collections.  In our own museum lab facility, we subject to rigorous inspection and authentic every artifact we offer for sale, accompanied by a written lifetime, unconditional guarantee of authenticity and proper identification.

At the end of the Pleistocene Period in the Nile Region, temperate conditions made for an ideal environment for the birth of a highly specialized Neolithic society between 7000 B.C. and 3000 B.C..  The Neolithic Fayum farming societies of Egypt cultivated emmer wheat and flax for cloth production.  They grew their crops by the lake in the Fayum depression, hence the name for their tool culture.  The Neolithic peoples also raised and herded goat, sheep, pig and cattle.  Their living quarters left no trace in some regions but were likely made from reeds or skins over a light frame.  Wattle-and-daub villages have also been attributed to these peoples.  These Neolithic societies represent the oldest evidence of food production from the Nile dating back to 4400 B.C..  As time progressed, the farming villages gave way to cities and kingdoms, ushering in the famous ancient Egyptian Dynasties.