Maces intended primarily for ceremonial display rather than as weapons. A ceremonial mace is a staff or club-shaped device, often richly ornamented and typically topped with a knob or other head-piece, carried by priestly officials, ecclesiastical persons, magistrates, and academic persons as a symbol of jurisdiction or office during a solemn ceremony. Examples are found in ancient Egypt, pre-Columbian America, Asia, and Europe and North America. For similar objects carried by rulers, use "scepters."
