MACE CRAFTSMANSHIP

Waipa Post, Volume 44, Issue 3177, 12 May 1932, Page 6

MACE CRAFTSMANSHIP

OLD-TIME METHODS USED. One of the few historic and really •valuable maces which escaped, in a large measure, the attempts made by Cromwell’s Protectorate to obliterate every outward manifestation of a jnonarchy in this country was the London one owned by the Ward of Cheap. All royal emblems were supposed to be removed from the maces, but the Ward of Cheap, regretting such complete vandalism, satisfied its conscience by cutting away only a few of the minor decorations. These were restored when Charles 11. came to the throne, but jthe repair work was carried out in a faulty manner, and it was recently discovered that the mace, which dates from 1624, was in danger of breaking up. It has now been subjected to a course of treatment which will preserve it in perfect condition for many years to come. That treatment, however, was not carried out by mod • em methods, which it was found were quite unsuitable for application to the ancient metals. The craftsmen .■who undertook the task studied the practices of the restorers of past cenituries, and even, in their efforts to perform a perfect piece of work, went |to the length of using charcoal fires for heating and melting purposes, as did the silversmiths and goldsmiths jof former days.