GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Maya perfected the art of chipping flint to create thin, flat blades (tok’) for sacrificial and ceremonial use. The complex shapes of many of these objects, which are too fragile for use as cutting tools, have earned them the designation "eccentric flints." Archaeologists have found them in elite tombs and in offertory caches associated with dedication and termination rituals for architecture and stone monuments. Such symbolically charged objects may also have functioned as talismans for living kings.
This magical object was designed to allow a king to conjure up gods and supernatural beasts to help his people in war. This particular tok’ shows a lord peering through a triangular portal to the spirit world. The Maya shaman kings had many portals linking them to their ancestors and to the gods in the otherworld. The portal is decorated with two heads of the god K’awil, soul, who represents the capacity of supernatural spirits to enter into material things like this talisman. The tok’s were usually kept bundled in cotton cloth and were only revealed on very special occasions such as the coronation of the king.
Adapted from
- Carol Robbins, Label text, A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2010.
- Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Eccentric flint depicting a crocodile canoe with passengers (1983.45.McD) and Eccentric flint with heads of K'awil, the god of royal lineage (2009.26)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 44-45.
NOTES
- Maya, Late Classic period, 550–800 C.E. (noted on TMS), updated by KJones on 09/23/13 and 01/05/16.
- Fun Facts Source: Carol Robbins, Object Worksheet (1978.39.1), n.d.
- Three eccentric flints (1978.39.1, 1978.39.2, and 1978.39.3) were accessioned together, and are currently listed as associated objects in TMS.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619
Maya: AAT: 300017826
Lowland Maya: AAT: 300017099
Geography
Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560
Process/materials
chert: AAT: 300011141
carving: AAT: 300053149
chipping: AAT: 300053752
Historical periods
Classic (mesoamerican period): AAT: 300016983
Late Classic Period: AAT: 300016986
Individuals
Subject terms
ritual objects: AAT: 300312158
ceremonial objects: AAT: 300234117
blade (tool and equipment components): AAT: 30002491
cutting (dividing): AAT: 300053069
flint (rock): AAT: 300011143
sacrifices: AAT: 300263243
talismans: AAT: 300234011
deities: AAT: 300343850
figures: AAT: 300189808
profiles (figures): AAT: 300123319
head: AAT: 300262520
ancestors: AAT: 300255718
genealogies (histories): AAT: 300027015
founders (originators): AAT: 300112017
myth: AAT: 300201023
rulers (people): AAT: 300025475
king: AAT: 300025481
conjure (events): DMA
supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947
wars: AAT: 300055314
triangles (polygons): AAT: 300009806
triangular (polygonal): AAT: 300263833
portals: AAT: 300076641
spirit: AAT: 300379007
underworld (doctrinal concept): AAT: 300343823
shaman: AAT: 300218522
God K (K’awil / K'awiil / Maya deity of lightning/fire/royal lineage): DMA
souls (spirits / beings): AAT: 300379821
eccentric flint: DMA
tok': DMA
wrapping (surface covering process): AAT: 300234992
cotton (fiber): AAT: 300183670
cloth: AAT: 300162391
coronations (cultural ceremonies / crowning): AAT: 300069660
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
1969-1978: Alphonse Jax, New York [1], [2], [3], [4]
From 1978: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, The Roberta Coke Camp Fund, purchased from the above [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]
[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 letter from Alphonse Jax to John Lunsford, Senior Curator of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts (dated November 30, 1978, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[3] The main source for this provenance is Acquisition Record (dated November 30, 1978, 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 Invoice from Alphonse Jax (dated January 04, 1979, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[5] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- Under microscopic examination, there is residual red pigment in the fracture near the head in the central triangle.
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1978.39.1
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
The Maya perfected the art of chipping flint to create thin, flat blades (tok’) for sacrificial and ceremonial use. The complex shapes of many of these objects, which are too fragile for use as cutting tools, have earned them the designation "eccentric flints." Archaeologists have found them in elite tombs and in offertory caches associated with dedication and termination rituals for architecture and stone monuments. Such symbolically charged objects may also have functioned as talismans for living kings.
This magical object was designed to allow a king to conjure up gods and supernatural beasts to help his people in war. This particular tok’ shows a lord peering through a triangular portal to the spirit world. The Maya shaman kings had many portals linking them to their ancestors and to the gods in the otherworld. The portal is decorated with two heads of the god K’awil, soul, who represents the capacity of supernatural spirits to enter into material things like this talisman. The tok’s were usually kept bundled in cotton cloth and were only revealed on very special occasions such as the coronation of the king.
Adapted from
- Carol Robbins, Label text, A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2010.
- Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Eccentric flint depicting a crocodile canoe with passengers (1983.45.McD) and Eccentric flint with heads of K'awil, the god of royal lineage (2009.26)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 44-45.
Fun Facts
- Under microscopic examination, there is residual red pigment in the fracture near the head in the central triangle.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
- Maya, Late Classic period, 550–800 C.E. (noted on TMS), updated by KJones on 09/23/13 and 01/05/16.
- Fun Facts Source: Carol Robbins, Object Worksheet (1978.39.1), n.d.
- Three eccentric flints (1978.39.1, 1978.39.2, and 1978.39.3) were accessioned together, and are currently listed as associated objects in TMS.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619
Maya: AAT: 300017826
Lowland Maya: AAT: 300017099
Geography
Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560
Process/materials
chert: AAT: 300011141
carving: AAT: 300053149
chipping: AAT: 300053752
Historical periods
Classic (mesoamerican period): AAT: 300016983
Late Classic Period: AAT: 300016986
Individuals
Subject terms
ritual objects: AAT: 300312158
ceremonial objects: AAT: 300234117
blade (tool and equipment components): AAT: 30002491
cutting (dividing): AAT: 300053069
flint (rock): AAT: 300011143
sacrifices: AAT: 300263243
talismans: AAT: 300234011
deities: AAT: 300343850
figures: AAT: 300189808
profiles (figures): AAT: 300123319
head: AAT: 300262520
ancestors: AAT: 300255718
genealogies (histories): AAT: 300027015
founders (originators): AAT: 300112017
myth: AAT: 300201023
rulers (people): AAT: 300025475
king: AAT: 300025481
conjure (events): DMA
supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947
wars: AAT: 300055314
triangles (polygons): AAT: 300009806
triangular (polygonal): AAT: 300263833
portals: AAT: 300076641
spirit: AAT: 300379007
underworld (doctrinal concept): AAT: 300343823
shaman: AAT: 300218522
God K (K’awil / K'awiil / Maya deity of lightning/fire/royal lineage): DMA
souls (spirits / beings): AAT: 300379821
eccentric flint: DMA
tok': DMA
wrapping (surface covering process): AAT: 300234992
cotton (fiber): AAT: 300183670
cloth: AAT: 300162391
coronations (cultural ceremonies / crowning): AAT: 300069660
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
1969-1978: Alphonse Jax, New York [1], [2], [3], [4]
From 1978: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, The Roberta Coke Camp Fund, purchased from the above [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]
[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 letter from Alphonse Jax to John Lunsford, Senior Curator of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts (dated November 30, 1978, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[3] The main source for this provenance is Acquisition Record (dated November 30, 1978, 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 Invoice from Alphonse Jax (dated January 04, 1979, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[5] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1978.39.1
source file
object_notes_3_a-0805.xml.nores