Note: The design of this piece is not a cross; the similarity is purely coincidental.
This bookmark is adapted from a mace head, part of a hoard of hundreds of copper and ivory artifacts found packed in a reed mat in "The Cave of the Treasure" in Nahal Mishmar in the Judean Desert.
The mace head is decorated with a representation of the human face, with round eyes and a prominent nose. The mace, sybolizing status and power, was a common weapon of the Chalcolithic period. Each of the 80 mace heads in this hoard is different, indicating that their use was ceremonial rather than practical.
This item comes with a certificate of authenticity from the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Enclosed is a short description of its historical background in English and Hebrew.