1976.43.a-b Pair of ear ornaments: flower form (Maya, Mexico or Guatemala)

During the Classic period (200–900 CE), Maya culture developed in the region from the northern Yucatán peninsula to the southern highlands of Guatemala, from eastern Mexico to western Honduras. The Maya built monumental architecture in cities strategically located on trade routes traversing land, rivers, and sea. By the Late Classic period (600–900 CE), an expanding Maya elite traded in luxury items such as feathers, cacao, cotton cloth, obsidian, and jadeite sourced from southeastern Guatemala and western Honduras. The desire by Maya elite for exotic goods expanded interaction with non-Maya populations into the southeast periphery of Mesoamerica.

The Ulúa River system served as a crucial conduit for cultural exchange into central Honduras. Maya traders from coastal Belize and the Yucatán peninsula transported worked objects to northern Honduras in exchange for local resources. Artisans from the Ulúa River regions produced elaborately carved marble cylinder vases, which were traded as far north as central Mexico and south into Panama. The Ulúa River valley, Lake Yojoa, and Comayagua populations further developed a regional polychrome painted ceramic tradition. These “Ulua Polychromes” varied in form and decoration; however, they often incorporated visual motifs adapted from their highly prolific Maya neighbors. The Ulua Polychrome tradition flourished in central Honduras throughout the Late Classic period.

Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Label text, Edith O'Donnell Institute of Art History (EODIAH), 2017.

Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619

Maya: AAT: 300017826

Lowland Maya: AAT: 300017099

worn costume accessories: AAT: 300209274

jewelry: AAT: 300209286

earrings (jewelry): AAT: 300045998

ear ornaments: AAT: 300211279

flower (motif): AAT: 300375563

flowers (plants): AAT: 300132399

geometric motifs: AAT: 300009764

lines (geometric concept): AAT: 300056279

circles (plane figures): AAT: 300055627

trade (function): AAT: 300061886

luxury (concept / condition): DMA

precious (concept / condition): DMA

Ulúa Valley (Honduras): DMA 

Río Ulúa (river): TGN: 1131229

Ulúa (Pre-Columbian Northern Central American styles): AAT: 300017226

Until 1976: Jerry L. Abramson (d. 2007), Dallas [1]

From 1976: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of Jerry L. Abramson in memory of Max Abramson [1], [2]

[1] The main source for this provenance was existing information in TMS. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted. 

[2] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

Apply to objects where number equals 1976.43.a-b