A RARE MAYAN BLACKWARE LIDDED VESSEL OF A DEITY'S HEAD

CENTRAL LOWLANDS, EARLY CLASSIC, CA. A.D. 250-450

Details

A RARE MAYAN BLACKWARE LIDDED VESSEL OF A DEITY'S HEAD
Central Lowlands, Early Classic, ca. A.D. 250-450
Representing an aged and frowning god, possibly God Itzamnà, with bodly accentuated features emphasizing the power and authority of the deity, the jaw surrounded by an etched beard, downward curving, petulant mouth, fleshy nose, large staring eyes, gaunt cheeks pulled back, the lid molded with the thick, arched brows with two pierced shaman's horns issuing from the sides, filled with clappers, and covered overall in lustrous black slip.
Height 7 in. (18 cm.)

Literature

G. Berjonneau, E. Delataille et Jean-Louis Sonnery, Chefs d'Oeuvres Inédits de l'Art Précolombien, Boulogne, 1985, pl. 336.

Lot Essay

Cf. Painting in the Maya Universe, pl. 161, Trésors de la céramique, pl. 38, such cache vessels are unusual and it seems that only five such lidded vessels are documented.

Itzamnà, one of the principal deities of the Mayan pantheon, is considered to have brought writing, healing and also the use of the calendar-as such was the founder of Mayan culture.

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