Description
The Maya often lavishly decorated the exteriors of buildings, transforming them into elaborate sculptural works in their own right. This sensitively modeled head, made from fragile stucco, would have been affixed to the façade of a palace or temple via the tenon (projection) at the back of the head. The rest of the body may have been modeled separately.
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)
Accession Number
1990.183
Medium
stucco, paint
Dimensions
Overall: 33.2 x 17.5 x 29.7 cm (13 1/16 x 6 7/8 x 11 11/16 in.)
Classification
Sculpture
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener
