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Pre-Columbian, Southern Mexico to Guatemala, Mayan Territories, Peten Basin, Late Classic Period, ca. 550 to 900 CE. A polychrome cylinder that presents a painted scene replete with dramatic iconography which ignites the viewer’s imagination. Featured around the decorative exterior register are a pair of standing dwarves who don elaborate headdresses with feathery trailing tails, discoid pendants and earspools, and black-hued waistbands above their stunted legs. Each figure stands in an expressive pose, with one arm at the waist and the other pointing outwards with heads craned slightly forward, perhaps pointing at or explaining something. Both figures stand to the right of a bullseye-shaped object with a central pole and a red-painted center dot, with a pair of illegible glyphs above. The top and bottom rims are painted in a similar red-hue, with orange-red, black, and beige hues comprising the remaining imagery. A fine, flat-bottomed cylinder example from the Peten Basin! Size: 3.5″ W x 5.25″ H (8.9 cm x 13.3 cm).
The Peten region was one of the most densely populated regions in the world during the Maya period, home to several million people and many powerful urban areas, with their own distinctive art style sufficiently demonstrated on this example. The way in which the painted details do not overcrowd the beige-hued ground illustrations the artistic prowess of the Mayans residing in the Peten Basin.
The painted imagery on this vessel illustrates valuable representations of dwarves in ancient Mayan society. Dwarves were believed to have magical powers in many pre-Columbian cultures and are oftentimes associated with shamanism due to their elevated status within society. Mayans did not perceive dwarfism as a physical abnormality but a divine gift which allowed dwarves to foresee and act upon the will of the gods.
Condition: Vessel has been repaired from several pieces with some areas of restoration, resurfacing, and overpainting along break lines. Age-commensurate surface wear, small chips to rim, body, and base, with fading and light losses to pigmentation, otherwise excellent. Nice mineral deposits and root marks throughout. One old inventory sticker with “159” on bottom.
Provenance: ex-private Lexington, Kentucky, USA collection; ex-Dr. Raymond Thomas collection
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