This silver-gilt mace was made in 1660–61 for the coronation of Charles II. Maces were carried in the coronation procession by the 13 Sergeants-at-Arms, State officials and important members of the household as a representation of their authority. This example is topped with a crown of four pearled ribs, a design similar to that used for maces during the Commonwealth after St Edward's Crown had been melted down. It may therefore incorporate elements from an earlier mace that was hurriedly appropriated for royal use following the Restoration. The arms plate of the mace is chased with the arms of Charles II and the stem with a strap work pattern enclosing alternate roses and thistles, a design that can be traced back to the early seventeenth century.

 

Given the antiquarian design of the chasing, this mace was probably the one carried at the coronations of both Charles II and James II by the Sergeant Trumpeter, Gervase Price. The warrant for commissioning his mace that was sent to the royal goldsmith, Sir Robert Vyner, specifically requested that it be made 'after the ancient forme and manner'. By 1661, Price, who had been Charles II's trumpeter during his exile, was in charge of the 17 trumpeters to the king. He is depicted holding a mace with similar decoration and a beaded crown in the illustration of James II's coronation procession in Francis Sandford's History of the coronation James II (1687). Sandford noted how 'The form of the Proceeding to Their Majesties Coronation…' commenced with 'Drums, Four a-Brest, to be followed by the Drum-Major. Trumpets, Four a-Brest, to be followed by the Serjeant-Trumpeter'.This mace was therefore probably the first borne in the procession to Westminster Abbey for the coronation ceremony.

Text adapted from Charles II: Art and Power (2017).