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Fuller White, London, England
The Norfolk Mace, 1752-53
Silver and wood, 41-1/2 inches
On loan from The City of Norfolk, VA

Although presented to Norfolk in 1754, the Norfolk Mace was made by the London silversmith Fuller White sometime in the previous year and is inscribed: The Gift of the Hon. Robert Dinwiddie, Esq. Lieut. Governor of Virginia to the Corporation of Norfolk, 1753. As a symbol of this Borough's investiture with royal authority, the Norfolk Mace is resplendent with royal imagery. The Crown of St. Edward - the official crown used in British coronation ceremonies is represented at it's top, the British Royal Arms as adopted at the time of the succession of the House of Hanover to the British throne (from King George I through King George III) is on a disk inside the head of the Mace. Around the head of the Mace there appears a shield with the arms of Great Britain and emblems of the lands traditionally claimed by the British monarchs: a rose and thistle growing on the same stem for the United Kingdoms of England and Scotland, a harp for Ireland, and a fleur-de-lis for France.

Before the Revolutionary War, the city mace was routinely paraded before the mayor at the opening sessions.

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