Oar Mace of the Malta Vice-Admiralty Court

Oar Mace of the Malta Vice-Admiralty Court

Alternate title

Silver Oar Mace of the Malta Vice-Admiralty Court

DateBlade ca. 1803; Staff ca. 1775-1797

Classification(s)

Armaments / Ceremonial Weapons

Object TypeMace

Registration NumberMMM 000027

DescriptionA mace of office in the shape of an oar some 79.5cm long. The staff is plain and unadorned except for a rounded narrow hoop at its extremity and lower one third of its length. The mounted blade is reeded at its lower extremity, and embossed on the recto with the Royal British Coat of Arms overlying the Admiralty Anchor emblem. Festoons of drapery are present all around the margin. On the verso there is red hatching on the left pale to identify the colours of the Maltese flag. In the centre a pointed shield overlies a festoon engraved with motto "NEC PREMIERE NEC PREMI".

The arms on the reverse are those of Sewell of Newport, Isle of Wight, for Dr. John Sewell, who was the first judge of the Vice Admiralty Prize Court in Malta, first set up in the second half of July 1803. Assay marks are to be found at the upper extremity of the staff. They consist of a crowned M and a dagger in fist of the Grandmaster Emanuel de Rohan-Polduc Period (1775-1797) while the maker's mark is that of Gioacchino Lebrum f(1775), who was Master of the Mint from 1787 until after the turn of the century. The staff is very possibly older than the blade, which may have been a modification to another mace or staff of office.
Material

Silver

Dimensions79.5cm x 13.7cmPublished ReferencesA. Espinosa Rodriguez, "Vice-Admiralty Oars" in the Mariner's Mirror Vol.76 No.3 August 1990 issue, pp. 213-214; M.A.R 1910-11

Alternate ID Numbers