GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The material of this object, possibly a fragment of jaguar bone, had intrinsic meanings for the Maya. The Classic Mayan word for bone is b'ak (b'aak), which also means “great seed,” “captive,” and “skull.” Bone was a magical substance that conveyed soul-force, called ch’ul (k'ul / "holiness") by the ancient Maya. Even today, Maya people believe that soul pervades all important material things—crosses, images of saints, and staffs of office, for example—not just people. The Maya believed that White Bone Dragon (Zak-b'ak-na-chan) conveyed the souls of ancestors back into the world to live again in the bodies of royal children. Jaguars were favored as the animal form kings most wanted to assume supernaturally to attack their enemies.
The scene incised on this bone is easy to read. At the lower right sits a young lord who is about to become king. To the left, in front of him, stands an elaborately dressed figure who holds aloft the great headdress of Holy Lordship. The headdress bears the image of a mythical bird called Itzam-Yeh, The Magic Giver. The same bird perches in the upper righthand corner, upon the little Sky House in which the young lord sits.
Itzam-Yeh represents both the magical power of kingship and the vanity of belief in material wealth. In Maya mythology, this bird declared himself to be the sun in the darkness before creation. The bird’s claims were false, and the ancestral heroes tore his wonderful jewels from his face as a warning to kings who rely solely on the outward trappings of their power. The bone probably represents both a covenant between the gods and the king, sealed in the moment of his crowning, and a warning against vanity for the new ruler.
Excerpt from
Carol Robbins, Label text, A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2010 [originally by David Freidel, PhD, and Richard R. Brettell, PhD, Label text, 1993].
NOTES
- Maya, Late Classic Period, 600–900 C.E., updated by KJones in TMS on 01/05/16 and 04/27/16.
- Noted in TMS, Notes / Text Entries, Other (see remarks) -- Provenance Note: U.S. Private Collection (noted by KJones in TMS on 04/27/16).
- Noted in TMS, Notes / Text Entries, Other (see remarks) -- Provenance Note: The source of the U.S. Private Collection is John A. Stokes Jr., Upper Nyack, NY. The main source for this provenance is letter from John A. Stokes Jr. to Carolyn Tate, Curator of Pre-Columbian Art at the Dallas Museum of Art (dated November 29, 1988, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential).
- Fun Facts Source: TMS [1988.129], Acquisition Justification, June 11, 2009 [1989].
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
bone (material): AAT: 300011798
carving: AAT: 300053149
incising: AAT: 300053847
polishing (finishing): AAT: 300053867
pigment: AAT: 300013109
Historical periods
Classic (mesoamerican period): AAT: 300016983
Late Classic Period: AAT: 300016986
Individuals
Subject terms
sculpture: AAT: 300047090
fragments (object portions): AAT: 300117130
ceremonial objects: AAT: 300234117
b'ak (bone / Maya hieroglyph): DMA
animals: DMA
jaguar: AAT: 300310389
seeds (plant components): AAT: 300400469
captive (prisoners of war): AAT: 300259895
skull (skeleton component): AAT: 300191856
souls (spirits / beings): AAT: 300379821
spirit: AAT: 300379007
ch’ul (k'ul / ch'ujul / k'ujul / Maya hieroglyph / holiness / sacred / divine): DMA
White Bone Dragon (Zak-bak-na-chan / Maya mythical figure / deity): DMA
deities: AAT: 300343850
ancestors: AAT: 300255718
children (people by age group): AAT: 300025945
royalty (nobility): AAT: 300188750
supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947
transformations (concepts / processes): DMA
profiles (figures): AAT: 300123319
sitting (seated): AAT: 300263970
male: AAT: 300189559
rulers (people): AAT: 300025475
king: AAT: 300025481
standing: AAT: 300239500
headdress: AAT: 300046023
masks (costume): AAT: 300138758
myth: AAT: 300201023
mythical or legendary beings: AAT: 300375725
birds (animals): AAT: 300266506
avian (attribute / bird-like): DMA
deities: 300343850
Itzamnaaj (Itzam Ye(h/j) / Vucub Caquix / Cosmic Bird / Principal Bird Deity / God D): DMA
sky: AAT: 300263064
houses: AAT: 300005433
magic: AAT: 300054590
power: AAT: 300374809
vanity (philosophical concept): AAT: 300309801
materialism (cultural attitude): AAT: 300055793
suns (stars): AAT: 300379806
darkness (concepts): AAT: 300056031
creation (doctrinal concept): AAT: 300069002
heroes: AAT: 300236801
twins: AAT: 300263240
Hero Twins (Hunahpu and Xbalanque / Maya creation deities): DMA
covenants (legal concepts): AAT: 300055562
coronations (cultural ceremonies / crowning): AAT: 300069660
crowns (headdresses): AAT: 300046020
ceremonies: AAT: 300054754
cartouches (ornament): AAT: 300010256
hieroglyphics (scripts / writing): AAT: 300028721
Maya (Classical Mayan language): AAT: 300388844
blood: AAT: 300011797
bloodletting (self-sacrifice / ritual): DMA
autosacrifice (self-sacrifice / bloodletting): DMA
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1988: U.S. Private Collection [1], [2], [3]
From 1988: Dallas Museum of Art, The Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Fund, purchased from the above [1], [2], [3], [4]
[1] The main source for this provenance was existing provenance information in TMS. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The main source for this provenance is anonymous correspondence with Carolyn Tate, Curator of Pre-Columbian Art at the Dallas Museum of Art (dated November 29, 1988, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential).
[3] See Collections Records Digital Object File.
[4] The main source for this provenance is Acquisition Record (dated December 06, 1988, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
269856834: UMO. [Caption] Incised bone: accession ceremony (1988.129), drawing by E. Pope, 1997. Source: Drawings available in TMS Object File.
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- There is no equal to the aesthetic and informative value of this incised Maya bone in any of the world's museums. On this tiny sliver is the only known testimony concerning the divine origin of royal costume. It is the only scene in the corpus of Maya art that so dramatically illustrates the covenant between the king and the gods. Because bone is so perishable in the acid jungle soils, there are but six in the entire United States, and all are in private collections and relatively inaccessible. The incised bone is a unique object and a once-in-a lifetime opportunity.
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1988.129
Category
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AND
General Description
The material of this object, possibly a fragment of jaguar bone, had intrinsic meanings for the Maya. The Classic Mayan word for bone is b'ak (b'aak), which also means “great seed,” “captive,” and “skull.” Bone was a magical substance that conveyed soul-force, called ch’ul (k'ul / "holiness") by the ancient Maya. Even today, Maya people believe that soul pervades all important material things—crosses, images of saints, and staffs of office, for example—not just people. The Maya believed that White Bone Dragon (Zak-b'ak-na-chan) conveyed the souls of ancestors back into the world to live again in the bodies of royal children. Jaguars were favored as the animal form kings most wanted to assume supernaturally to attack their enemies.
The scene incised on this bone is easy to read. At the lower right sits a young lord who is about to become king. To the left, in front of him, stands an elaborately dressed figure who holds aloft the great headdress of Holy Lordship. The headdress bears the image of a mythical bird called Itzam-Yeh, The Magic Giver. The same bird perches in the upper righthand corner, upon the little Sky House in which the young lord sits.
Itzam-Yeh represents both the magical power of kingship and the vanity of belief in material wealth. In Maya mythology, this bird declared himself to be the sun in the darkness before creation. The bird’s claims were false, and the ancestral heroes tore his wonderful jewels from his face as a warning to kings who rely solely on the outward trappings of their power. The bone probably represents both a covenant between the gods and the king, sealed in the moment of his crowning, and a warning against vanity for the new ruler.
Excerpt from
Carol Robbins, Label text, A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2010 [originally by David Freidel, PhD, and Richard R. Brettell, PhD, Label text, 1993].
Fun Facts
- There is no equal to the aesthetic and informative value of this incised Maya bone in any of the world's museums. On this tiny sliver is the only known testimony concerning the divine origin of royal costume. It is the only scene in the corpus of Maya art that so dramatically illustrates the covenant between the king and the gods. Because bone is so perishable in the acid jungle soils, there are but six in the entire United States, and all are in private collections and relatively inaccessible. The incised bone is a unique object and a once-in-a lifetime opportunity.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
- Maya, Late Classic Period, 600–900 C.E., updated by KJones in TMS on 01/05/16 and 04/27/16.
- Noted in TMS, Notes / Text Entries, Other (see remarks) -- Provenance Note: U.S. Private Collection (noted by KJones in TMS on 04/27/16).
- Noted in TMS, Notes / Text Entries, Other (see remarks) -- Provenance Note: The source of the U.S. Private Collection is John A. Stokes Jr., Upper Nyack, NY. The main source for this provenance is letter from John A. Stokes Jr. to Carolyn Tate, Curator of Pre-Columbian Art at the Dallas Museum of Art (dated November 29, 1988, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential).
- Fun Facts Source: TMS [1988.129], Acquisition Justification, June 11, 2009 [1989].
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
bone (material): AAT: 300011798
carving: AAT: 300053149
incising: AAT: 300053847
polishing (finishing): AAT: 300053867
pigment: AAT: 300013109
Historical periods
Classic (mesoamerican period): AAT: 300016983
Late Classic Period: AAT: 300016986
Individuals
Subject terms
sculpture: AAT: 300047090
fragments (object portions): AAT: 300117130
ceremonial objects: AAT: 300234117
b'ak (bone / Maya hieroglyph): DMA
animals: DMA
jaguar: AAT: 300310389
seeds (plant components): AAT: 300400469
captive (prisoners of war): AAT: 300259895
skull (skeleton component): AAT: 300191856
souls (spirits / beings): AAT: 300379821
spirit: AAT: 300379007
ch’ul (k'ul / ch'ujul / k'ujul / Maya hieroglyph / holiness / sacred / divine): DMA
White Bone Dragon (Zak-bak-na-chan / Maya mythical figure / deity): DMA
deities: AAT: 300343850
ancestors: AAT: 300255718
children (people by age group): AAT: 300025945
royalty (nobility): AAT: 300188750
supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947
transformations (concepts / processes): DMA
profiles (figures): AAT: 300123319
sitting (seated): AAT: 300263970
male: AAT: 300189559
rulers (people): AAT: 300025475
king: AAT: 300025481
standing: AAT: 300239500
headdress: AAT: 300046023
masks (costume): AAT: 300138758
myth: AAT: 300201023
mythical or legendary beings: AAT: 300375725
birds (animals): AAT: 300266506
avian (attribute / bird-like): DMA
deities: 300343850
Itzamnaaj (Itzam Ye(h/j) / Vucub Caquix / Cosmic Bird / Principal Bird Deity / God D): DMA
sky: AAT: 300263064
houses: AAT: 300005433
magic: AAT: 300054590
power: AAT: 300374809
vanity (philosophical concept): AAT: 300309801
materialism (cultural attitude): AAT: 300055793
suns (stars): AAT: 300379806
darkness (concepts): AAT: 300056031
creation (doctrinal concept): AAT: 300069002
heroes: AAT: 300236801
twins: AAT: 300263240
Hero Twins (Hunahpu and Xbalanque / Maya creation deities): DMA
covenants (legal concepts): AAT: 300055562
coronations (cultural ceremonies / crowning): AAT: 300069660
crowns (headdresses): AAT: 300046020
ceremonies: AAT: 300054754
cartouches (ornament): AAT: 300010256
hieroglyphics (scripts / writing): AAT: 300028721
Maya (Classical Mayan language): AAT: 300388844
blood: AAT: 300011797
bloodletting (self-sacrifice / ritual): DMA
autosacrifice (self-sacrifice / bloodletting): DMA
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1988: U.S. Private Collection [1], [2], [3]
From 1988: Dallas Museum of Art, The Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Fund, purchased from the above [1], [2], [3], [4]
[1] The main source for this provenance was existing provenance information in TMS. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The main source for this provenance is anonymous correspondence with Carolyn Tate, Curator of Pre-Columbian Art at the Dallas Museum of Art (dated November 29, 1988, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential).
[3] See Collections Records Digital Object File.
[4] The main source for this provenance is Acquisition Record (dated December 06, 1988, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
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