Streitkolben

The shapes and details of these two brass maces (invs. A 153, A 162) are informed by contemporary late medieval architecture. They imitate tracery windows, buttresses, crockets, and finials typical of late Gothic buildings, especially coeval churches. The maces’ miniature windows were originally set off in red to create the impression of tiny stained-glass windows. The heads were repurposed as cupolas and end in finials. The ends of the handles can be unscrewed and contain tiny folding gameboards. The boards for chess and backgammon have survived, together with the now-empty frame of a third gameboard. Game pieces and dice, however, are lost.

Only one of the ceremonial maces has retained its lower cover, which is decorated with a thistle bud (inv. A 153). The latter hides a combination of sundial and compass installed at the bottom of the handle; the instrument’s hand and magnetic needle have not survived.

Since the twentieth century, this pair of identical, sophisticated ceremonial maces has been attributed to Emperor Frederick III and his son and heir, Maximilian. Unfortunately, we lack archival sources to confirm this attribution. It has been suggested that they may have been commissioned for the Habsburgs’ campaign against Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, in 1474/75. Charles had used an internal conflict in the archbishopric of Cologne as an excuse to besiege the city of Neuss for almost a year, in an attempt to extend his domains at Cologne’s expense. The emperor and his relief army were eventually able to raise the siege and force Charles to abandon his expansionist plans.