A MEDIEVAL BRONZE MACE WITH ANIMAL FINIALS AND KUFIC CALLIGRAPHY
Possibly Khorasan, Eastern Iran, 10th - 12th century

The long cylindrical shaft divided into two sections, the upper worked in honeycomb, the lower in an elongated rope-twisted pattern, with a square pedestal at the top, a compressed globular ring in the middle, a gadrooned floral pommel on the end, and three foliated Kufic bands scattered across, the mace's head once decorated on each corner with a sinuous equine figure with a protruding conical horn, possibly meant to represent procession horses or wild antelopes, now only three remaining, featuring a central bulbous knob, and engraved vegetal sprays alternating calligraphic cartouches on the outer sides, 48.2cm long.