GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This intriguing object conveys important ideas about sacred Maya kingship through its material, shape, and imagery. Green stone that could be highly polished was a precious material for the ancient Maya. Jadeite and other varieties of greenstone ornaments were tremendously symbolic, connoting specifically water and corn and more abstractly fertility, breath or soul essence, and life itself.
The circular hole at the center identifies this piece as an ear ornament. Deities and dignitaries are usually depicted in Maya art wearing decorative ornamentation in or on the ear, which included spool-shaped ear ornaments and earflares that were worn through an enlarged hole in the earlobe. This example is asymmetrical in shape and sufficiently large to suggest that it could not have been worn by a human being—at least not in an ear lobe. Some scholars have suggested that larger ear ornaments of this type were used as headdress elements, through which hair was threaded, or to adorn masks. Regardless, they would have been an emblem of status.
The flat, polished surface of this object bears an incised image of a bird, and original traces of red hematite are visible in the finely carved lines. A necklace hangs below the head, feathers trail along the right side, and a bird foot can be seen in the right corner. The profile human-like head with prominent nose seems to represent Itzamnaaj, the Principal Bird Deity who is associated with writing and the creation myth (he is also referred to as the Cosmic Bird, Itz'am Yej, Itzam Ye, Itzam Yeh, Vucub Caquix). In Maya art, the avian creature is often shown descending from the sky to settle in the branches of a tree, an act that links the bird with the axis mundi, the center of the world.
Elaine Higgins Smith, Digital Collections Content Coordinator, 2016.
Drawn from
- Carol Robbins, Label text [1968.20], A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2008.
- Carol Robbins, Label text [2006.59], A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2008.
- Carol Robbins, DMA unpublished material, 2008.
- Getty Vocabulary, AAT (earspools: AAT: 300209300).
- Getty Vocabulary, AAT (ear ornaments: AAT: 300211279).
NOTES
- Maya, 250–500 C.E., updated by KJones in TMS on 09/23/13 and 06/18/14; no period noted in TMS.
- General Description drawn from: DMA unpublished material [Carol Robbins, "Acquisition Proposal," DMA Object File (2008.16) (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 2009 [dated March 24, 2008]), 1-2].
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619
Maya: AAT: 300017826
Lowland Maya: AAT: 300017099
Geography
Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560
Guatemala (nation): TGN: 7005493
Process/materials
jadeite (mineral): AAT: 300011121
carving: AAT: 300053149
incising: AAT: 300053847
polishing (finishing): AAT: 300053867
drillwork (sculpture technique): AAT: 300186211
pigment: AAT: 300013109
hematite (mineral): AAT: 300011105
Historical periods
Classic (mesoamerican period): AAT: 300016983
Early Classic: AAT: 300016984
Individuals
Subject terms
worn costume accessories: AAT: 300209274
jewelry: AAT: 300209286
earrings (jewelry): AAT: 300045998
ear ornaments: AAT: 300211279
earspools: AAT: 300209300
earflares (ear ornaments / jewelry): AAT: 300411644
headdress: AAT: 300046023
hair ornaments: AAT: 300209287
masks (costume): AAT: 300138758
red (color): AAT: 300126225
green (color): AAT: 300128438
king: AAT: 300025481
rulers (people): AAT: 300025475
kingship (rulership / culture-related concepts): AAT: 300404762
nobility (nobles / aristocracy): AAT: 300025942
emblems (symbols): ATT: 300123036
jade (rock): AAT: 300011119
water: AAT: 300011772
corn (zea mays species): AAT: 300375398
maize (zea mays species): AAT: 300375398
fertility: AAT: 300379149
life (biological concepts): AAT: 300055134
spirit: AAT: 300379007
souls (spirits / beings): AAT: 300379821
breath (respiratory function): DMA
figures: AAT: 300189808
profiles (figures): AAT: 300123319
head: AAT: 300262520
faces (animal or human components): AAT: 300251798
necklaces: AAT: 300046001
feathers (animal components): AAT: 300400474
feet (animal components): AAT: 300310200
beaks (animal components): AAT: 300400475
deities: AAT: 300343850
supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947
birds (animals): AAT: 300266506
mythical or legendary beings: AAT: 300375725
avian (attribute / bird-like): DMA
God D (Itzamnaaj / Itzam Ye(h/j) / Vucub Caquix / Cosmic Bird / Maya Principal Bird Deity): DMA
writing systems: AAT: 300389741
creation (doctrinal concept): AAT: 300069002
myth: AAT: 300201023
mythology (literary genre): AAT: 300055985
sky: AAT: 300263064
trees: AAT: 300132410
tree of life (general motif / axis mundi /cosmic axis / world axis / world tree): AAT: 300312112
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From at least late 1960s: U.S. Private Collection [1], [2]
Until 2008: Huber Primitive Art, Dixon, IL (Robert and Marianne Huber, dealers) [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]
From 2008: Dallas Museum of Art, The Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Fund, purchased from the above [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]
[1] The main source for this provenance is existing information in TMS. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The main source for this provenance is invoice from Robert and Marianne Huber Fine Arts, Huber Primitive Art (dated April 04, 2008, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[3] This was offered at auction but went unsold, "African, Oceanic, and Pre-Columbian Art," Sotheby's, New York, May 12, 2005, lot 286. It remained with Huber Collection until its purchase from the Dallas Museum of Art in 2008. The main source for this provenance is email correspondence from Carol Robbins, The Ellen and Harry S. Parker III Curator of the Arts of Americas and the Pacific (dated March 13, 2008, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[4] The main source for this provenance is email correspondence from Carol Robbins, The Ellen and Harry S. Parker III Curator of the Arts of Americas and the Pacific (dated March 13, 2008, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[5] The main source for this provenance is Committee on Collections Agenda (dated April 02, 2008, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[6] The main source for this provenance is invoice from Robert and Marianne Huber Fine Arts, Huber Primitive Art (dated April 04, 2008, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
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Apply to objects where number equals 2008.16
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General Description
This intriguing object conveys important ideas about sacred Maya kingship through its material, shape, and imagery. Green stone that could be highly polished was a precious material for the ancient Maya. Jadeite and other varieties of greenstone ornaments were tremendously symbolic, connoting specifically water and corn and more abstractly fertility, breath or soul essence, and life itself.
The circular hole at the center identifies this piece as an ear ornament. Deities and dignitaries are usually depicted in Maya art wearing decorative ornamentation in or on the ear, which included spool-shaped ear ornaments and earflares that were worn through an enlarged hole in the earlobe. This example is asymmetrical in shape and sufficiently large to suggest that it could not have been worn by a human being—at least not in an ear lobe. Some scholars have suggested that larger ear ornaments of this type were used as headdress elements, through which hair was threaded, or to adorn masks. Regardless, they would have been an emblem of status.
The flat, polished surface of this object bears an incised image of a bird, and original traces of red hematite are visible in the finely carved lines. A necklace hangs below the head, feathers trail along the right side, and a bird foot can be seen in the right corner. The profile human-like head with prominent nose seems to represent Itzamnaaj, the Principal Bird Deity who is associated with writing and the creation myth (he is also referred to as the Cosmic Bird, Itz'am Yej, Itzam Ye, Itzam Yeh, Vucub Caquix). In Maya art, the avian creature is often shown descending from the sky to settle in the branches of a tree, an act that links the bird with the axis mundi, the center of the world.
Elaine Higgins Smith, Digital Collections Content Coordinator, 2016.
Drawn from
- Carol Robbins, Label text [1968.20], A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2008.
- Carol Robbins, Label text [2006.59], A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2008.
- Carol Robbins, DMA unpublished material, 2008.
- Getty Vocabulary, AAT (earspools: AAT: 300209300).
- Getty Vocabulary, AAT (ear ornaments: AAT: 300211279).
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
- Maya, 250–500 C.E., updated by KJones in TMS on 09/23/13 and 06/18/14; no period noted in TMS.
- General Description drawn from: DMA unpublished material [Carol Robbins, "Acquisition Proposal," DMA Object File (2008.16) (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 2009 [dated March 24, 2008]), 1-2].
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619
Maya: AAT: 300017826
Lowland Maya: AAT: 300017099
Geography
Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560
Guatemala (nation): TGN: 7005493
Process/materials
jadeite (mineral): AAT: 300011121
carving: AAT: 300053149
incising: AAT: 300053847
polishing (finishing): AAT: 300053867
drillwork (sculpture technique): AAT: 300186211
pigment: AAT: 300013109
hematite (mineral): AAT: 300011105
Historical periods
Classic (mesoamerican period): AAT: 300016983
Early Classic: AAT: 300016984
Individuals
Subject terms
worn costume accessories: AAT: 300209274
jewelry: AAT: 300209286
earrings (jewelry): AAT: 300045998
ear ornaments: AAT: 300211279
earspools: AAT: 300209300
earflares (ear ornaments / jewelry): AAT: 300411644
headdress: AAT: 300046023
hair ornaments: AAT: 300209287
masks (costume): AAT: 300138758
red (color): AAT: 300126225
green (color): AAT: 300128438
king: AAT: 300025481
rulers (people): AAT: 300025475
kingship (rulership / culture-related concepts): AAT: 300404762
nobility (nobles / aristocracy): AAT: 300025942
emblems (symbols): ATT: 300123036
jade (rock): AAT: 300011119
water: AAT: 300011772
corn (zea mays species): AAT: 300375398
maize (zea mays species): AAT: 300375398
fertility: AAT: 300379149
life (biological concepts): AAT: 300055134
spirit: AAT: 300379007
souls (spirits / beings): AAT: 300379821
breath (respiratory function): DMA
figures: AAT: 300189808
profiles (figures): AAT: 300123319
head: AAT: 300262520
faces (animal or human components): AAT: 300251798
necklaces: AAT: 300046001
feathers (animal components): AAT: 300400474
feet (animal components): AAT: 300310200
beaks (animal components): AAT: 300400475
deities: AAT: 300343850
supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947
birds (animals): AAT: 300266506
mythical or legendary beings: AAT: 300375725
avian (attribute / bird-like): DMA
God D (Itzamnaaj / Itzam Ye(h/j) / Vucub Caquix / Cosmic Bird / Maya Principal Bird Deity): DMA
writing systems: AAT: 300389741
creation (doctrinal concept): AAT: 300069002
myth: AAT: 300201023
mythology (literary genre): AAT: 300055985
sky: AAT: 300263064
trees: AAT: 300132410
tree of life (general motif / axis mundi /cosmic axis / world axis / world tree): AAT: 300312112
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From at least late 1960s: U.S. Private Collection [1], [2]
Until 2008: Huber Primitive Art, Dixon, IL (Robert and Marianne Huber, dealers) [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]
From 2008: Dallas Museum of Art, The Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Fund, purchased from the above [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]
[1] The main source for this provenance is existing information in TMS. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The main source for this provenance is invoice from Robert and Marianne Huber Fine Arts, Huber Primitive Art (dated April 04, 2008, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[3] This was offered at auction but went unsold, "African, Oceanic, and Pre-Columbian Art," Sotheby's, New York, May 12, 2005, lot 286. It remained with Huber Collection until its purchase from the Dallas Museum of Art in 2008. The main source for this provenance is email correspondence from Carol Robbins, The Ellen and Harry S. Parker III Curator of the Arts of Americas and the Pacific (dated March 13, 2008, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[4] The main source for this provenance is email correspondence from Carol Robbins, The Ellen and Harry S. Parker III Curator of the Arts of Americas and the Pacific (dated March 13, 2008, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[5] The main source for this provenance is Committee on Collections Agenda (dated April 02, 2008, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[6] The main source for this provenance is invoice from Robert and Marianne Huber Fine Arts, Huber Primitive Art (dated April 04, 2008, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
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