ART COLLECTION

Maces

Origen: Ajuntament de Balaguer
Material: Silver
Chronology: 1815
Inv. No.: MN 2437, MN 2438

The maces of the City Hall of Balaguer are made of silver and are formed by a handle with a ribbed section, smooth and ornamented, and a decorated head. In the head stand four female figures in the style of classic caryatids, joined for a floral band. The head is crowned with an ornate cross. The two pieces that make up the handle are fitted inside through a wooden tube. In the lower tambour of the head there are four circular stamps that alternate the shield of the city with the inscription “YY 1815”. Actually, these stamps are coins of Charles IV and Ferdinand VII –they still keep their stamp on the back– that would have been reused for the decoration of the maces. Between the figures of the head, the engraving “BAR” can be seen –with a Greek cross on the letters– that corresponds to Barcelona, ​​the city where the work was made.In the central fitting of the handle, part of two engravings are read: “F. ROCA” and “ANGELI”, which surely correspond to the two goldsmiths from Barcelona to whom the work was commissioned: F. Roca and Joan Angeli. The two workshops are documented since the 18th century.