Pre-Columbian, Mexico and northern Central America, Maya Territories, Late Classic, ca. 550 to 900 CE. An incredible matched pair of lidded ceramic vessels of the style found in buried caches. The lids are identical, each topped by the head of a lord, with a large, curved headdress and big spool-shaped earrings. Around the rim of each lid is a series of incised glyphs, including symbols for water, human skull, and different animals. The bodies of the vessels are elegant, incised in a band around the center of their exteriors, the band filled with more incised glyphs. The vessels themselves are steep walled, with slightly convex bases, gently flaring out to an unpronounced rim. The lids sit atop them, held in place by a slight rim. Size of largest with lid (they are nearly identical): 5.2" W x 7.65" H (13.2 cm x 19.4 cm)

Unlike many other ancient civilizations, the Maya did not have cemeteries or necropolises; instead, they buried both human remains and ritual caches of pottery filled with offerings, jade, beads, and other precious items throughout their lived-in-landscape, especially as part of their architecture. These all seem to have been "earth offerings," and may have been dedications for newly built construction, markers for the end of use of a building, or some kind of renewal ceremony relating to the broader concept of Maya cosmology: the cycle of planting, harvest, and rebirth. Caches have been found in floors, in the fill of buildings, or set into walls. Vessels with lids seem to have been symbolic of houses or structures to the Maya, meaning that these vessels served as effigies of the buildings they were buried inside, able to be filled with offerings of food or drink, sanctifying the construction. These are particularly nice examples, as many vessels made only to be cached are of thin construction because they were never meant for heavy use. The glyphs that cover their surfaces probably describe the relationship between the lived-in world that the Maya inhabited and the mythological, religious world in which they believed.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection, 2016; ex-Balene McCormick collection, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, acquired before 2000

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Both the lids and the bodies have been expertly repaired and restored from multiple pieces. Both have rich deposits on their surfaces and well preserved motifs.