Pre-Columbian, southern Mexico and Guatemala, Maya Late Classic Period, ca. 550 to 900 CE. A massive ceramic tripod plate with rich, strongly-painted, black-outlined motifs. In tondo is an absolutely gorgeous painting of a dancer/priest wearing a jaguar head as a headdress alongside a net-patterned short cape and a multitude of jewelry and feathers. This is depicted in a thick red border. Around the gently sloping rim is a ring of pseudo-glyph like symbols including stairs/labyrinths (sometimes associated with the Underworld) and symmetrical, knot-like motifs. A really fine example of the form. Size: 13.6" W x 2.25" H (34.5 cm x 5.7 cm)

The Maya Classic phase is so named because it was the peak of their artistic and cultural achievements. Part of this, as in many societies, included highly specialized consumable goods. Elaborate plates like this one were designed to be instantly distinguishable from those used for everyday eating or drinking - not just in decoration, but also in quantity produced, making these a much rarer find than a piece of domestic pottery. Instead, a bowl like this one would be ritually "sacrificed" by having a hole put through its center; it would then be placed into a tomb as an offering.

Provenance: private D. C. collection, California, USA; D. C. is an Emmy Award winning Hollywood writer and Executive Producer, collected before 2000

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#126457

Repaired and restored from multiple pieces, with repairs nearly invisible on the decorated interior of the piece and difficult to see on the undecorated exterior. There is a "kill hole" in the center. Excellent pigment remaining with mostly clear motifs except around the "kill hole".