The mace harkens back to a time when weapons were works of art, as beautiful to look upon as they were deadly to encounter.

Relegated to ceremonial pieces in recent years, the mace is now an object of authority, rather than warfare-but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t carry a lasting message, no more so than in tattoo form.

Resembling a club, the mace features a wood or metal shaft reinforced with metal and a heavy head of iron, copper, bronze, or steel. Warriors carried maces for thousands of years, and it is still regarded as a mark of strength and implacable honor. A mace tattoo lets the world know you have not forgotten the old ways, and are just as capable of summoning the forces of your ancestors to forge ahead in the battle of life. You may not be in need of physical protection, but the mace is a powerful totem nonetheless.

Inked in the style of your medieval brothers or rendered in a more modern, simplistic manner, your mace tattoo should reflect the man you are and will continue to strive to be. Here is no temporary trend or novelty; the mace’s message, like the weapon itself, is not to be trifled with. The same can be said of the man who dons the mace tattoo.