Image scanned and/or photographed, then color-corrected by Pat Cagney.

The Norfolk Mace

Artist Fuller White (English, active 1734–1773)

CultureEnglish

Date1753

MediumSilver

Dimensions41 1/2 in. (105.4 cm)

InscribedMarked on plain areas of the shaft in two places: "F.W." and a lion passant. Marked on inside lip of cup: crowned leopard's head, lion passant, date letter "4" (1752-1753) and maker's mark: "F.W." Engraved around the base of cup: "THE GIFT OF THE HON.ble ROBERT DINWIDDIE ESQ. LIEU. GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA TO THE CORPORATION OF NORFOLK."

Credit LineOn Loan from the City of Norfolk

Object numberL89.1

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 209

DescriptionThe Norfolk Mace. Made up of 10 interlocking sections of silver held together by a wood rod. The central wood support seems to be a replacement made from a broom handle. The straps forming the crown have been much damaged and repaired as have the fleur-de-lis. For its age and what it has been through, it is in remarkably good condition. The mace weighs 104 oz. The head of the mace, its single largest piece, is surmounted by an open-work crown, bearing the emblems of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland. Shown growing from a single stem are the rose of England, thistle of Scotland, France's fleur-de-lis surrounding the rim of the cup, and the harp of Ireland--signifying the Irish herald. Crowned center of the mace supports a globe or orb, above which is a cross. The staff of the mace is ornamented with alternating leaves, scrolls, and spirals. Around the base of the cup are engraved the inscriptions.

Label TextFuller White English, active 1734–1773 Norfolk Mace, 1753 Silver When held by Norfolk’s mayor at public ceremonies, the Norfolk Mace signified that his colonial office was an extension of the British Crown’s prestige and power. One of London’s finest silversmiths designed the elaborate scepter, and Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor presented it to the city in 1753. Though decorated with King George II’s coat of arms, the mace became a focus of local civic pride, and it has been guarded fiercely whenever war or fire threatened Norfolk. Today it is the only municipal mace in the United States in the possession of the city for which it was commissioned. Lent by the City of Norfolk Exhibition History"Reopening of the Joan P. Brock Galleries," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., Opening in March of 2008. Published ReferencesBetsy L. Fahlman, et al., A TRICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION: NORFOLK 1682-1982, (The Chrysler Museum: Norfolk, VA, 1982), 31-36.