The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of August 10, 2022

Cylindrical Vessel with Palace Scene

600-900

Mexico or Central America, Maya stye

(250-900)

Earthenware with colored slips

Diameter: 19 x 11.3 cm (7 1/2 x 4 7/16 in.); Overall: 19.1 cm (7 1/2 in.)

Gift of Edgar A. Hahn 1967.203

Location

233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region

Description

The scene here may commemorate a special event in the life of a Maya ruler, who stands on a stairway before his throne, his legs framed by a litter on the ground. His gesture and the jaguar pelt at the waist visually unify him with his attendants. The ruler perhaps used the vessel as a drinking cup on important occasions; fine ceramics also served as gifts and as offerings in tombs.

Citations
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Jenifer Neils. The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Museum in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1982. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 77, no. 81
Exhibition history

Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; June 29- September 5, 1982. " The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art." cat. no. 81, repr. p. 77.

Year in Review: 1968. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 29-March 9, 1969).

The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 30-September 5, 1982).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1967.203