GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The ancient Maya believed that the creator gods remade the cosmos on August 13, 3114 BCE, after a great flood destroyed the third creation. On this pot, the wizened old man riding the peccary, or wild pig, is Itzamnaaj (Itzamna) or God D, one of the most important deities in the Maya pantheon, the first shaman and one of the creator gods. Normally depicted as an aged deity, Itzamnaaj wears a flower marked with the ak'ab' ("darkness") glyph on his headband. Itzamnaaj acts as a central deity in the creation myth associated with the sky; though the specific legend linking Itzamnaaj with the peccary is not known, the wild pig symbolizes the constellation Gemini, or the Twins. The creator gods originally painted the star patterns, just as Maya sages painted books of astronomical calculations. According to the Classic Maya, the first human being, One-Maize-Revealed, was born at the center of the night sky on August 13, 3114 BCE, when the peccary constellation and other important star patterns clustered at the heart of heaven. With its portrayal of a man and a pig, this lidded bowl narrates the origins of the world.
Adapted from
- Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Lidded bowl with a man riding a peccary (1972.10.a-b)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 42.
- "Lidded Vessel Depicting Itzamnaaj on Back of Peccary (1972.10.a-b)," in Lords of creation: the origins of sacred Maya kingship, Virginia M. Fields, Dorie Reents-Budet, Ricardo Agurcia Fasquelle, et al. (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art; London: Scala, 2005), 146 (cat.48).
- Carol Robbins, Label text, A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2010.
NOTES
- Maya, Early Classic period, 250–550 C.E. (noted on TMS), updated by KJones on 09/23/13 and 02/26/16.
- Entered missing bibliographic entry in TMS, Documentation/Bibliography: "Lidded Vessel Depicting Itzamnaaj on Back of Peccary (1972.10.a-b)," in Lords of creation: the origins of sacred Maya kingship, Virginia M Fields, Dorie Reents-Budet, Ricardo Agurcia Fasquelle, et al. (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art; London: Scala, 2005), 146 (cat.48). [Exhibition catalog, available in Mayer Library, main stacks, call no. F1435.3 A7F54 2005]; also added missing entry as new record in Bibliography Module, Reference ID: 5422.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619
Maya: AAT: 300017826
Lowland Maya: AAT: 300017099
Geography
Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560
Campeche (state): TGN: 7005578
Process/materials
ceramic (material): AAT: 300235507
clay: AAT: 300010439
paint (coating): AAT: 300015029
glazing (coating): AAT: 300053914
incising: AAT: 300053847
slip (clay): AAT: 300010459
slip glaze: AAT: 300015110
burnishing (polishing): AAT: 30053869
modeling (forming): AAT: 300053130
coiling (pottery technique): AAT: 300053903
slab method (pottery technique): AAT: 300053905
appliqué (technique): AAT: 300053646
Historical periods
Classic (mesoamerican period): AAT: 300016983
Early Classic: AAT: 300016984
Individuals
Subject terms
vessels (containers): AAT: 300193015
bowls (vessels): AAT: 300203596
lids (covers): AAT: 300045712
ritual vessels: AAT: 300265801
deities: AAT: 300343850
figures: AAT: 300189808
man: AAT: 300025928
ancestors: AAT: 300255718
genealogies (histories): AAT: 300027015
founders (originators): AAT: 300112017
creation (doctrinal concept): AAT: 300069002
myth: AAT: 300201023
mythical or legendary beings: AAT: 300375725
pig (genus sus): AAT: 300250114
peccary (javelina or skunk pig / Suidae family): AAT: 300310427
astronomy (sciences): AAT: 300054534
Gemini (zodiac symbols): AAT: 300169874
flanges (general components): AAT: 300233998
Itzamnaaj (Itzam Ye(h/j) / Vucub Caquix / Cosmic Bird / Principal Bird Deity / God D): DMA
cosmology (cosmological / disciplines): AAT: 300054294
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1972: Fine Art of the Americas (Lee Moore), Miami [1]
From 1972: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas Art Association purchase, purchased from the above [1], [2]
[1] The main source for this provenance is Acquisition Record (dated March 8, 1972, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The Dallas Art Association is the predecessor to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name was abandoned in 1970. Works from this collection were transferred to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
13313404: UMO. 13313604: UMO. Audio: Maya Cosmos - 2/18/1993, "Maya Cosmos," 1993 Ancient Art of the New World lecture series; speaker is from the Department of Anthropology at Southern Methodist University, David Freidel. [Note: May relate to Eccentric Flint (1983.45.McD) and/or Lidded Bowl with peccary (1972.10.a-b)??. Also listed in Maya Content Chunk]. [2 files].
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
253363273: UMO. [Caption] Collared peccary. Source: Drew Avery, Wikimedia Commons, accessed: April 27, 2015, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Collared_peccary_Pecari_tajacu.jpg.
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1972.10.A-B
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
The ancient Maya believed that the creator gods remade the cosmos on August 13, 3114 BCE, after a great flood destroyed the third creation. On this pot, the wizened old man riding the peccary, or wild pig, is Itzamnaaj (Itzamna) or God D, one of the most important deities in the Maya pantheon, the first shaman and one of the creator gods. Normally depicted as an aged deity, Itzamnaaj wears a flower marked with the ak'ab' ("darkness") glyph on his headband. Itzamnaaj acts as a central deity in the creation myth associated with the sky; though the specific legend linking Itzamnaaj with the peccary is not known, the wild pig symbolizes the constellation Gemini, or the Twins. The creator gods originally painted the star patterns, just as Maya sages painted books of astronomical calculations. According to the Classic Maya, the first human being, One-Maize-Revealed, was born at the center of the night sky on August 13, 3114 BCE, when the peccary constellation and other important star patterns clustered at the heart of heaven. With its portrayal of a man and a pig, this lidded bowl narrates the origins of the world.
Adapted from
- Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Lidded bowl with a man riding a peccary (1972.10.a-b)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 42.
- "Lidded Vessel Depicting Itzamnaaj on Back of Peccary (1972.10.a-b)," in Lords of creation: the origins of sacred Maya kingship, Virginia M. Fields, Dorie Reents-Budet, Ricardo Agurcia Fasquelle, et al. (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art; London: Scala, 2005), 146 (cat.48).
- Carol Robbins, Label text, A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2010.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
- Maya, Early Classic period, 250–550 C.E. (noted on TMS), updated by KJones on 09/23/13 and 02/26/16.
- Entered missing bibliographic entry in TMS, Documentation/Bibliography: "Lidded Vessel Depicting Itzamnaaj on Back of Peccary (1972.10.a-b)," in Lords of creation: the origins of sacred Maya kingship, Virginia M Fields, Dorie Reents-Budet, Ricardo Agurcia Fasquelle, et al. (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art; London: Scala, 2005), 146 (cat.48). [Exhibition catalog, available in Mayer Library, main stacks, call no. F1435.3 A7F54 2005]; also added missing entry as new record in Bibliography Module, Reference ID: 5422.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619
Maya: AAT: 300017826
Lowland Maya: AAT: 300017099
Geography
Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560
Campeche (state): TGN: 7005578
Process/materials
ceramic (material): AAT: 300235507
clay: AAT: 300010439
paint (coating): AAT: 300015029
glazing (coating): AAT: 300053914
incising: AAT: 300053847
slip (clay): AAT: 300010459
slip glaze: AAT: 300015110
burnishing (polishing): AAT: 30053869
modeling (forming): AAT: 300053130
coiling (pottery technique): AAT: 300053903
slab method (pottery technique): AAT: 300053905
appliqué (technique): AAT: 300053646
Historical periods
Classic (mesoamerican period): AAT: 300016983
Early Classic: AAT: 300016984
Individuals
Subject terms
vessels (containers): AAT: 300193015
bowls (vessels): AAT: 300203596
lids (covers): AAT: 300045712
ritual vessels: AAT: 300265801
deities: AAT: 300343850
figures: AAT: 300189808
man: AAT: 300025928
ancestors: AAT: 300255718
genealogies (histories): AAT: 300027015
founders (originators): AAT: 300112017
creation (doctrinal concept): AAT: 300069002
myth: AAT: 300201023
mythical or legendary beings: AAT: 300375725
pig (genus sus): AAT: 300250114
peccary (javelina or skunk pig / Suidae family): AAT: 300310427
astronomy (sciences): AAT: 300054534
Gemini (zodiac symbols): AAT: 300169874
flanges (general components): AAT: 300233998
Itzamnaaj (Itzam Ye(h/j) / Vucub Caquix / Cosmic Bird / Principal Bird Deity / God D): DMA
cosmology (cosmological / disciplines): AAT: 300054294
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1972: Fine Art of the Americas (Lee Moore), Miami [1]
From 1972: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas Art Association purchase, purchased from the above [1], [2]
[1] The main source for this provenance is Acquisition Record (dated March 8, 1972, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The Dallas Art Association is the predecessor to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name was abandoned in 1970. Works from this collection were transferred to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
13313404: UMO. 13313604: UMO. Audio: Maya Cosmos - 2/18/1993, "Maya Cosmos," 1993 Ancient Art of the New World lecture series; speaker is from the Department of Anthropology at Southern Methodist University, David Freidel. [Note: May relate to Eccentric Flint (1983.45.McD) and/or Lidded Bowl with peccary (1972.10.a-b)??. Also listed in Maya Content Chunk]. [2 files].
VIDEO ASSETS
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1972.10.A-B
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object_notes_3_a-0811.xml.nores