The Mace was presented to the General Council of the University of Edinburgh by Mr John G. Gray on 25 June 1988. Mr Gray was Convener of the Business Committee of the General Council from 1984 to 1988. The shaft of the Mace is made from a piece of wood from Malabar, India, which was gifted by the Secretary of State for India to The International Forestry Exhibition of 1884. Since then it had been in the possession of the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Univers ity of Edinburgh, and was then presented by that Department to make the Mace. The shaft has therefore been identified with the University of Edinburgh for about a hundred years, and symbolises the international membership of the General Council. The head of the Mace has three sides or flutes. One flute contains the seal of the University, which is now used as the insignia of the General Council; the second flute carries the coat-of-arms of the University of Edinburgh; and on the third flute, by courtesy of the City, is the coat-of-arms of the City of Edinburgh, with which the University has been associated for over four hundred years. The shaft of the Mace has three silver plates: on one is the donors' dedication; on the second is a reference to the wood having been donated by the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources; the third plate contains the names of all the surviving conveners of the Business Committee as at 1988. The Mace was made in Edinburgh and is entirely the product of local craftsmanship. It was designed by Alistair Buchanan of R. L. Christie, Jewellers, Bank Street. The wood was turned by J. J. Hardie of Newhaven Road. The Silversmith and Gilder was Alastair Campbell of Victoria Street and the Engraver was P. O'Brien. The accompanying image is of Mr Drew Laven, former Robemaster to the University, who had responsibility for carrying the Mace at General Council ceremonial events. Image This article was published on 2024-07-08
