The examination of objects does not always make it possible to fully trace their provenance. In some cases, and this is the case, for example, when analysing weapons, doubts will probably remain for a long time. Extreme caution should also be exercised when dealing with objects which are known to have been made in the Republic, but for which we have no way of determining their fate in later periods. One such object is a mace, held in the Stockholm Army Museum.

The period of the Great Northern War (1700-1721) remains poorly researched in many respects, including the organisation of looting or the compilation of lists of specific looted objects. There are several reasons for this, stemming also from the nature of the war. The aim of the robberies during the Swedish "Deluge" was, among other things, to destroy the ideological centres in the Polish lands and therefore the acquisition of war booty was centrally organised; the Swedes robbed in a planned manner and the valuable objects acquired in this way (e.g. works of art, weapons, objects of everyday use) were treated primarily as an enrichment for Sweden, but also as wages for officers and soldiers. In the case of the Great Northern War, it is much more difficult to conduct research in this regard, as officers and soldiers acquired objects not only for the benefit of the Kingdom, but also - after receiving permission from King Charles XII of Sweden - for their own use. In the latter case, the scale of the phenomenon appears to have been much wider, as can be seen from the correspondence of Swedish officers. For example, the head of the Swedish General War Commissariat, Magnus Stenbock, corresponded with his wife, Eva Oxenstierna, and reported to her on, among other things, the progress of the ongoing warfare, as well as giving instructions regarding war conquests sent to her. This private nature of some of the plunder also means that to date no inventories of exported items from this period have been encountered, with the exception of registers of guns or weapons, which were prepared for the national administration.

One object whose provenance is uncertain is a boule, part of the collection of the Stockholm Armémuseum (AM.091133). It was made on the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. It was probably looted during the Great Northern War. The object's documentation states that it was purchased by a private individual in 1946, and handed over to the museum in 1990. The mace had combat functions, but also emphasised the dignity of its owner, e.g. a hetman in the Republic, and hence its alternative name, i.e. ceremonial mace. Various examples of them are known in Polish collections, but one of the most valuable is the mace of Prince Władysław Sigismund Vasa, later King Władysław IV, which is kept in the Collection of Militaria of the Wawel Royal Castle. However, they were also known outside Poland, mainly to emphasise the prestigious importance of their owners.

Stored in the Royal Armoury in Stockholm, the mace was made of wood and brass. It is 63 cm long and 7.25 cm in diameter, and weighs 594 g. Its head is shaped like an onion and is decorated with decoration. At the widest part of the head are three decorative elements with a leaf and flower motif. Between them are three vertically positioned feathers. The upper and lower parts of the shaft have been covered with brass plates with elongated patterns, creating a striped effect. A vertical band decorated with rhombuses and circles has been placed in the part between the shank and the head and on the end knob. The handle is covered with red velvet with short bristles, the state of preservation of which is generally good, but has shrunk slightly and a thicker fabric is visible underneath.