Bull-Headed Mace

Although arms and armor are not prominently featured in Isabella Gardner's galleries, a surprising number can be found throughout the museum—if one looks carefully. Gardner placed this Persian bull-headed mace, made of cast iron and inlaid with silver and gold, at the north end of this early sixteenth-century walnut table.  Its fine craftsmanship indicates it was likely used for ceremonial rather than martial purposes. An inscription on the bull's head "Fereydun-as-Sultan" suggests a noble provenance. In Persian mythology, King Fereydon slew a dragon with a bull-headed mace. As symbols of justice, maces like this one were created as symbols of power and authority in the eighteenth century. To add to their gravitas, many of them whistle when swung as air passes through the ears.