Pre-Columbian, Honduras, Mayan Ulua Valley, ca. 550 to 850 CE. A wonderful polychrome cylinder vessel with incredibly rich iconography. The theme is of a seated lord with an immense, elaborate headdress, shown kneeling. Between the repeated lords is a cross-like image. The lord may be a stylized painting of a real individual. The cross motif there has been interpreted to be a representation of the World Tree, embodying the four cardinal directions. The center of the cross is an axis mundi, connecting the three worlds sacred to the Mayans: the earth, the Underworld, and the sky. Above and below the central band are geometric patterns, and the piece has a painted base, which is a rarity. The painted designs are dense and evocative, rich in red and black on a background of orange and cream. Residue analysis on similar vessels suggests that this cylinder jar was almost certainly used for the ritual ingestion of a drink made from cacao (chocolate). Size: 5.75" W x 5" H (14.6 cm x 12.7 cm) Size: 5.75" W x 5" H (14.6 cm x 12.7 cm)

The Ulua Valley, centered around the large city of Cerro Palenque, is a mystery for archaeologists - unlike the Maya, they left no written records (the glyphoid designs on this vessel do not form words), and their connection to the Classic Maya is unclear. It seems to have been a point of trade and transport - a connecting link - between the Maya world further north and Central America. The pottery from the Ulua Valley is part of a very unique tradition different even from those found at nearby Copan.

Provenance: private Lexington, Kentucky, USA collection

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#130076

Repaired and restored from multiple pieces. Repairs are very difficult to see, especially from exterior.