1973.36 Pendant: head of a ruler (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

pendants (jewelry): AAT: 300046002

green (color): AAT: 300128438

figures: AAT: 300189808

human figures: AAT: 300404114

head: AAT: 300262520

faces (animal or human components): AAT: 300251798

nobility (nobles / aristocracy): AAT: 300025942

ancestors: AAT: 300255718

king: AAT: 300025481

rulers (people): AAT: 300025475

portrait: AAT: 300015637

headdress: AAT: 300046023

hair ornaments: AAT: 300209287

beads (pierced objects): AAT: 300234006

hairstyles: AAT: 300262903

earrings (jewelry): AAT: 300045998

earspools: AAT: 300209300

ear ornaments: AAT: 300211279

geometric motifs: AAT: 300009764

geometric patterns: AAT: 300165213

circles (plane figures): AAT: 300055627

green (color): AAT: 300128438

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

n.d: Dr. and Sra. Josué Sáenz, Mexico, D.F. [1], [2]

Until 1973: Edward H. Merrin Gallery, Inc. [2], [3]

From 1973: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene McDermott and The Eugene McDermott Foundation and Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated [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 Object Worksheet (n.d., copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[3] The main source for this provenance is Acquisition Record (dated March 13, 1973, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[4] 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 1973.36