Images

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=FA411525E197452E711C9E7A9FD5FC68CFE27DACACB246037B7CA22072525646&s=24247294&se=2040367084&v=4&f=1965.550_o2.jpg

Alternate Views

Shell with Seated Noble

600–900

Mexico or Central America, Maya style

(250-900)

Conch shell

Overall: 16.6 x 7.9 x 3.5 cm (6 9/16 x 3 1/8 x 1 3/8 in.)

The Norweb Collection 1965.550

Location

233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region

Did you know?

A Maya nobleman smokes a cigar as he reaches toward a shell with a serpent.

Description

This plaque, perhaps meant to be held in the hand for close viewing, is delicately incised with a ruler who leans toward a serpent-headed conch shell at the lower left. The lord, who smokes a cigar, is simply dressed in a loincloth; a band of body paint or tattoos appears on his chest.

Provenance

?-1965

Emery May Holden Norweb [1895-1984] and Raymond Henry Norweb [1894-1983], Cleveland OH, 1965, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1965

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Citations

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 293 archive.org

Stechow, Wolfgang. "Cleveland's Golden Anniversary Acquisitions." Art News (September 1966) p. 34 & 64,

Lee, Sherman E. "Golden Anniversary Acquisitions: September 10 through October 16." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 53, no. 7 (1966) No. 49, p. 275 www.jstor.org

The Art Gallery Magazine (October 1966). p. 12

"The Cleveland Museum of Art, Golden Anniversary." Archaeology (October 1966). p. 282

"Golden Anniversary: Acquisitions by the Cleveland Museum of Art." The Burlington Magazine CVIII(November 1966). p. 579, fig. 51

Cleveland museum of art. Selected Works: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland museum of art, 1967. No. 229

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 293 archive.org

Jewkes, W. T., and Northrop Frye. Man the Myth-Maker. Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981. p. 396

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 396 archive.org

Robicsek, Francis. The Smoking Gods. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1978. p. 118, 140, fig. 155, pl. 124

Berjonneau, Gerald, Emile Deletaille, and Jean-Louis Sonnery. Rediscovered Masterpieces of Mesoamerica: Mexico-Guatemala-Honduras. Boulogne, France: Editions Arts, 1985.

Berjonneau, Gerald, Emile Deletaille, and Jean-Louis Sonnery. Rediscovered Masterpieces of Mesoamerica: Mexico-Guatemala-Honduras. Boulogne, France: Editions Arts, 1985. . p. 283, pl. 24

Lucena Salmoral, Manuel. América 1492: retrato de un continente hace quinientos años. Barcelona: Círculo de Lectores, 1991. p. 62

Cleveland Museum of Art. Masterpieces from East and West. New York, NY: Rizzoli International, 1992. p. 180

Sorenson, John L. Images of Ancient America: Visualizing Book of Mormon Life. Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1998. p. 151

Miller, Mary Ellen, and Megan E. O'Neill. Maya Art and Architecture. London: Thames & Hudson, 2014. p. 221, pl. 197

Ahrndt, Wiebke. Starker Tobak: ein Wunderkraut erobert die Welt. Basel: Museum der Kulturen, 2000. p. 71

Grube, Nikolai. Maya Divine Kings of the Rainforest. H F Ullmann, 2016. p. 450

Blume, Anne. "Royal Visions: Art of the Maya Courts." Art in America (December 2004). pp 102-6, 151

Jackson, Sarah E. Politics of the Maya Court: Hierarchy and Change in the Late Classic Period. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2013. . p. 134, fig. 43

Graña-Behrens, Daniel, “Death and Deer Riding among the Ancient Maya of Northwest Yucatán, Mexico.” In The Archaeology of Yucatán (Travis Stanton, ed.), Archaeopress Pre-Columbian Archaeology 1 (2014). fig. 1.7

Exhibition history

Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; September 10- October 16, 1966. " Golden Anniversary Acquisitions." Cat. no. 49. repr. p. 278.

Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; 1986. Forth Worth, TX: Kimbell Art Museum; (1986). "The Blood of Kings: A New Interpretation of Maya Art."

Hildesheim, Germany: Roemer und Pelizaeus Museum; June 14- December 6, 1992. Vienna, Ausria: Kunstlerhaus; January 31- June 27, 1993. Cologne, Germany: Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum; February 18- May 15, 1994. "The World of the Maya." cat. no. 99, repr.p. 421.

Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art; April 4- July 25, 2004. San Francisco, CA: California Palace of the Legion of Honor; September 4, 2004- January 2, 2005. "Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya." exh. cat. no. 69, p. 137.

Boston, MA: Peabody Essex Museum; March 27- July 18, 2010. Fort Worth, TX: The Kimbell Art Museum; August 29, 2010- January 2, 2011. St. Louis, MO: The Saint Louis Art Museum; February 13- May 8, 2011. "The Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea." cat. no. 40, plate 35, p. 114-115 and 301.

Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).

The World of the Maya. Roemer und Pelizaeus Museum, Hildesheim, Hildesheim, Germany (organizer) (June 14-December 6, 1992); Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, Köln, Germany (February 18-May 23, 1994).

Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. National Gallery of Art, Landover, MD (April 4-July 25, 2004); Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA (September 4, 2004-January 2, 2005).

The Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA (organizer) (March 27-July 18, 2010); Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX (August 29, 2010-January 2, 2011); Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO (February 13-May 8, 2011).

Maya: Secrets of Their Ancient World. Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto M5S 2C6, Canada (organizer) (November 19, 2011-April 9, 2012); Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, Canada (May 17-October 28, 2012).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Shell with Seated Noble|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1965.550|year=600–900|access-date=30 November 2022|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.

You are here:

Images

Shell with Seated Noble

Shell with Seated Noble

Mexico or Central America, Maya style

Location

Download and Share

Did you know?

Description

Contact us