Painted Vase with Ruler and Scribe

Description

Among Maya noble families, finely painted ceramic vessels were used as fancy tableware, treasured gifts that secured the support of allies, and funerary offerings placed in tombs. Accordingly, the vessels’ imagery varies from religious themes to scenes of courtly life. Here, two attendants kneel before an enthroned nobleman who wears an enormous bird-head headdress.

Provenance

(Stendahl Art Galleries, Los Angeles, CA, 1972, sold to James C. and Florence C. Gruener) (?-1972); James C. [1903-1990] and Florence C. [1908-1982] Gruener, Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art (1972-1990); The Cleveland Museum of Art (1990)

Painted Vase with Ruler and Scribe

[]

600–900

Accession Number

1990.181

Medium

pottery with burnished, colored slips

Dimensions

Overall: 24.5 x 10.5 cm (9 5/8 x 4 1/8 in.)

Classification

Ceramic

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener