Maya. <em>Cylindrical Vessel</em>, ca. 550–950 C.E. Ceramic, pigment, 6 1/4 x 5 3/8 x 5 3/8 in. (15.9 x 13.7 x 13.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 1998.176.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1998.176.2.jpg)

Maya. Cylindrical Vessel, ca. 550–950 C.E. Ceramic, pigment, 6 1/4 x 5 3/8 x 5 3/8 in. (15.9 x 13.7 x 13.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 1998.176.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1998.176.2.jpg)

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This cylindrical vessel features a procession of warriors. If you look closely you'll notice that they are carrying trophy heads at their waists.

Cylindrical Vessel

Arts of the Americas

The use of animal imagery to support divine rule and convey military strength was common among the ancient Maya, whose Classic period dated from 250 to 900 in a region that encompasses modern-day Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and portions of southern Mexico. This small ceramic figurine of a nobleman has a removable serpent-headed headdress decorated with the precious and sacred tail feathers of the iridescent-green quetzal bird, which is associated with the feathered-serpent deity Kukulcán. The ceramic vessel displayed here features a procession of eleven military victors following a naked, bound prisoner. Each warrior wears a tie-dyed textile, a trophy head suspended from his belt, and an animal headdress that may represent his warrior society.

CULTURE Maya

MEDIUM Ceramic, pigment

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS

Possible place made: Highlands, Guatemala
Place collected: Yucatan, Mexico

DATES ca. 550–950 C.E.

DIMENSIONS 6 1/4 x 5 3/8 x 5 3/8 in. (15.9 x 13.7 x 13.7 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas

ACCESSION NUMBER 1998.176.2

CREDIT LINE Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Polychrome vessel with a procession of warrior figures with trophy heads hanging from their waists surrounding a bound prisoner who has been stripped of his clothes except for a trophy head (possibly a disgraced warrior). The prisoner's penis has been split in two and as blood drips down, he screams in pain (the speech glyphs above his head indicate screaming). The figure behind him holds an executioner's staff topped with a large obsidian knife.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Maya. Cylindrical Vessel, ca. 550–950 C.E. Ceramic, pigment, 6 1/4 x 5 3/8 x 5 3/8 in. (15.9 x 13.7 x 13.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 1998.176.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1998.176.2.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 1998.176.2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

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Tell me more.

This cylindrical vessel features a procession of warriors. If you look closely you'll notice that they are carrying trophy heads at their waists.