Mace head, silver and silver-gilt, chased and engraved; wooden handle covered with leather

Maces were used as weapons by the Turkic peoples from ancient times and also in the Ottoman army in the 17th century.

Although the form of this mace is functional, it is a ceremonial piece. It belonged to a high-ranking officer in the Ottoman army and was a very conspicuous symbol of his position.

Several maces of more or less the same shape and combination of materials have been preserved, many of them in Western collections. They were taken as Türkenbeute when the Ottomans’ siege of Vienna failed in 1683.