Photo Collection of Stephanie Wood |
Kislak Collection -- Maya Objects |
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image contains 4 magnifiable sections. Click a section to view the larger
image. |
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Throne-Like
Effigy Box with Ruler and Double Headed Serpent At the site of the ancient city of Copán in Honduras there are a number of double-headed stone altars that share the same iconography with the throne on this object. These thrones appeared over a wide area, as far north as Uxmal in Yucatan, and as far south as Copán. This brightly painted ceramic throne, which is a box or cache vessel, has serpent heads at each side from which supernatural beings emerge, one a scribe and the other an old god. The bearded Lord sits on a jaguar pelt thrown over the seat, it's paws hanging over the edge. Dressed in the costume of a Copán ruler, this Lord emulates the figures on altar Q at Copán, on which is carved a dynastic portrayal of the Kings of Copán. The Lord appears to be wearing the same headdress, a turban which is made of a long woven ribbon that is wound around his head, layer upon layer, until it has assumed the shape of a large stepped disk that has been created by pushing the whole massive headdress upward. He wears a badge of office on his chest which is made of twisted serpents surrounding a supernatural face, perhaps a symbol of the polity to which he holds title. Many of the details are painted with “Maya blue”, that special color which denotes the importance of this personage. If this
ceramic indeed was found in the Quiché region, we can only
attest that there is other parallel evidence of direct contacts between
Copán and the Guatemala Highlands. This box, however, convincingly
depicts a Copán king. |
| The Jay I. Kislak Collection of pre-Columbian cultural heritage materials is owned by the Library of Congress. Photograph shot and presented here with permission. |
| Photo,
©2004, by
Stephanie Wood. |