A university has showed off its first ever mace to represent the ability to bestow degrees.

Designed by silversmith Richard Fox, who crafted pieces used in Formula One, Rolls Royce and even a gift for the Pope, the mace is Middlesex University's first ceremonial item.

Unveiled at a graduation ceremony, the 1.05 metre long, 5kg mace is made of argentium, a silver alloy that is brighter than platinum and tarnish-resistant.

Richard Fox studied at the University’s predecessor institution Hornsey School of Art and subsequently at the Royal College of Art.

The design symbolises Middlesex’s history and evolution: three seax blades, an ancient weapon of the Anglo-Saxons, of which they got their name, a globe alluding to Middlesex’s international campuses in Dubai, Malta and Maritius and intertwined ribbons recording the names of Middlesex’s predecessor colleges.