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The Late Preclassic in the Maya lowlands (400 BC - AD 100) saw the development of pyramids with monumental stucco masks on their facades, and this phenomenon is closely tied to the emergence of kingship. The beads seen around the face of this mask may be of jadeite and are found in many early potrayals of Maya kings. They signify preciousness and power through the symbolic link of jadeite to water and fertility.
Facade Mask. |
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In this royal portrait on the lid of a tripod vessel (detail), an unnamed king sits upon a double-headed jaguar throne, which rests upon the personified mountain of creation. He wears the headdress of the Principal Bird Deity with the jewel of Itzamnaaj, and his face is encircled by beads. The belt head of the king represents the Maize God, and from it hang three belt plaques associated with maize fertility.
Tripod Vessel with Seated King |
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The veneration of ancestors was an important function of censers, which portray individual kings. Censers have two parts: the top of this one depicts the king seated in a royal pose; the bottom forms the container for coals and incense. This king wears a headdress with a mirror as its central jewel, and feather panaches cascade from each side in a style reminiscent of Teotihuacan formal dress.
Censer with Seated King |
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This inlaid-shell pectoral is incised with an image of a king seated on a throne wiith woven mat borders. The king carries a double-headed serpent bar and wears a trefoil crown and a jaguar-pelt kilt. Plaques hang from his belt and throne.
Pectoral Depicting Ruler Seated on Throne |
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Part of a dedicatory cache found beneath the altar at the foot of the Hieroglyphic Stairway at Copan, this figure and another with it were heirlooms at the time of the offering. The cache dates to the reign of K'ak' Yipyaj Chan K'awiil in the mid-eighth century AD, but the figure's Early Classic style is revealed in its pose: slightly bent legs, and the so-called crab-claw position of the arms.
Figure of a Lord |
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Artists also carved royal images on ceramic vessels. On the Tikal vessel pictured here, the king's head emerges from the open mouth of a saurian, invoking supernatural context. The large earflare on the reptilian creature is a typically Early Classic quincunx version with a central U surrounded by four dots.
Cache Vessel with Carved Lid Portraying King |
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