Steel armor evolved throughout the sixteenth century as a practical defense against most handheld weapons, including swords designed for cutting or thrusting and percussive weapons such as maces, war hammers, and axes. As with armor, some highly decorated weapons were made for active use, while others were purely ceremonial. By the end of the century, widespread use of firearms and artillery undermined the protective capabilities of traditional plate armor, leading to its gradual disuse in the seventeenth century.
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Title:Mace
Date:ca. 1550–1600
Culture:Italian
Medium:Steel
Dimensions:L. 25 3/16 in. (64 cm); L. of head 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm); W. 5 in. (12.2 cm); Wt. 2 lbs. 15 oz. (1332.4 g)
Classification:Shafted Weapons
Credit Line:Gift of Stephen V. Grancsay, 1942
Object Number:42.50.44
Clarence H. Mackay, Roslyn, NY (until d. 1938; his estate, sold through Seligmann & Co. to Grancsay); Stephen V. Grancsay, New York (by January 14, 1941–42; his gift to MMA).
Los Angeles. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," January 15–March 18, 1953, no. 113.
San Francisco. California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 18–June 7, 1953, no. 113.
Pittsburgh. Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute. "Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," October 1953–April 1954, no. 113.
Christie, Manson & Woods. Catalogue of The Collection of Arms and Armour and Objects of Art Formed by Sir Guy Francis Laking, Bart. London: Christie, Manson & Woods, April 19–22, 1920. no. 19, ill. (mace with similar head called German 15th century).
Laking, Guy Francis, Charles A. de Cosson, and Francis Henry Cripps-Day. A Record of European Armour and Arms Through Seven Centuries. Vol. IV. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1920–1922. p. 337, fig. 1402a (very similar mace called Italian, mid-XVI century).
Grancsay, Stephen V. Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1953. p. 29, no. 113.
Schedelmann, Hans. "Waffen und Rüstungen." In Keysers Kunst– und Antiquitätenbuch: Band II. Heidelberg: Helmut Seling, 1959. pp. 254–256, fig. 343 (very similar mace, called German, 16th century).
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