This is a hand-shaped fasces as seen in the U.S. House of Representatives. It duplicates those on the marble wall behind the Speaker of the House's dais in Washington, DC.
It is just shy of 8" long and very heavy. It has a metal core, and weighs more than $10 in quarters, or about half a pound (see photo of scale). It is made of a limestone composite, acrylic, pulverized bronze, and a hard, water-tight museum-grade wax over the copper & zinc core, which gives it a good feeling in the hand. This is designed for display on a desk or as a paperweight.
The fasces is an ancient symbol of power and authority, originating in Etruscan and Roman civilization. It consists of a bundle of identical rods, typically bound together with leather straps, often including an axe. The small, thin rods represent individual people: weak by themselves, but strong when bound together in unity, a metaphor for strength and order of a common polity.
In ancient Rome, fasces were carried by lictors as a symbol of a magistrate’s power to enforce laws. The idea of strength through unity made the fasces a recurring symbol in later governments, including in France and the United States, appearing on architecture, seals, and emblems (see my photo of other fasces in U.S. Government architecture). In the 20th Century, the faces came to represent Italian fascism. The original meaning, strength through unity & e pluribus unum, remains an enduring concept.
Made in the USA.
By way of background, I have designed commission pieces for television, museum, and film use for the last 35 years.
Made in the USA.
