Bowl
Dateca. 600-900
Mediumpottery and paint
DimensionsOverall: 5 1/4 x 7 1/8 x 7 in. (13.3 x 18.1 x 17.8 cm)
ClassificationsContainers
Credit LineGift of Seymour Rosenberg
Object number81.0224
DescriptionThe favorite colors for Maya ceramic artists are used to set off an image of a portly jaguar. Jaguars appear frequently in Maya art as symbols of royal power and divine authority. This jaguar has a shawl or other ornamentation around his neck, which may indicate he is the deity known as the Water Lily Jaguar, an important fertility god of the Classic Maya, who is often shown as a huge cat who protects the members of certain royal families. Two small drill holes show this vessel was repaired in antiquity.
