Maya. <em>Tripod Plate</em>, ca. 593–731. Ceramic, pigment, 4 9/16 x 17 11/16 x 17 11/16 in. (11.6 x 44.9 x 44.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 39.57. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 39.57_view01_PS11.jpg)

Maya. Tripod Plate, ca. 593–731. Ceramic, pigment, 4 9/16 x 17 11/16 x 17 11/16 in. (11.6 x 44.9 x 44.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 39.57. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 39.57_view01_PS11.jpg)

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What is the decoration on this plate.

The plate is in the "turkey vulture" style, and is linked to burials. The animals on the plate reference Xilbalba, the underworld.

Tripod Plate

Arts of the Americas

Painting, particularly on ceramic vessels, was the primary art form among the Maya. This plate is representative of the “turkey vulture” pottery tradition, a regional style that was created for a broad audience and used almost exclusively in burials. The vessel’s interior is decorated with the Muan bird, the messenger of the lords of the underworld. The “kimi” glyph, or death sign, emanates from the bird’s head just above the beak. On the interior rim, two centipedes swim in the underworld’s black waters.

CULTURE Maya

MEDIUM Ceramic, pigment

Place Found: Campeche, Mexico

DATES ca. 593–731

DIMENSIONS 4 9/16 x 17 11/16 x 17 11/16 in. (11.6 x 44.9 x 44.9 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas

ACCESSION NUMBER 39.57

CREDIT LINE Dick S. Ramsay Fund

PROVENANCE Prior to 1939, provenance not yet documented; by 1939, acquired by William Spratling of New York, NY, New Orleans, LA, and Taxco, Mexico; 1939, purchased from William Spratling by the Brooklyn Museum.

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CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Large polychrome tripod plate with a Muan bird (turkey vulture) design in the center and a centipede along the interior rim. Condition: good.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Maya. Tripod Plate, ca. 593–731. Ceramic, pigment, 4 9/16 x 17 11/16 x 17 11/16 in. (11.6 x 44.9 x 44.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 39.57. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 39.57_view01_PS11.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 39.57_view01_PS11.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2022

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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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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

What is the decoration on this plate.

The plate is in the "turkey vulture" style, and is linked to burials. The animals on the plate reference Xilbalba, the underworld.