Vessel with Dancing Maize Gods

780–810

This eighth-century Maya vessel was made by Ah Maxam, a royal member of the Naranjo kingdom of Guatemala. It depicts a Maya ruler dressed as the maize god, a deity connected with the cycle of death and resurrection. This scene shows the soul of the deceased accompanied into the domain of the dead. It would eventually be reborn, just as maize sprouts again in nature's cycle of renewal.

Public domain · CC0
Free to download and reuse. Image courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.

Artist

Aj Maxam (Maya) Vicinity of Naranjo, Petén region, Guatemala

Date

780–810

Medium

Earthenware and pigment

Dimensions

23.9 × 25.7 × 25.9 cm (9 7/16 × 10 1/8 × 10 1/4 in.)

Origin

Petén

Collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Credit

Ethel T. Scarborough Fund