On view
Art of the Ancient Americas
Plaque depicting a seated sahal (secondary lord),
600–800
Maya
Late Classic Period
2014-54
Secondary noblemen are regular subjects of Maya art, with costumes and proportions that signal their particular social roles. The man wearing a tight vest while wielding a shield is a warrior, while the diminutive proportions of the figure to the right suggest a dwarf, an important court official. While the elegantly proportioned heads carved from shells at lower left likely reference lords, the central figure, who sits on a throne, is a sahal, a type of secondary noble, as confirmed by hieroglyphic captions on other examples. The rightmost figure is a musician with swirling song emanating from his mouth.
Information
Title
Plaque depicting a seated sahal (secondary lord)
Dates
600–800
Medium
Queen conch (Lobatus gigas) with modern red paint
Dimensions
11.5 × 5.8 × 0.8 cm (4 1/2 × 2 5/16 × 5/16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Mary Trumbull Adams Art Fund and gift of Gillett G. Griffin
Object Number
2014-54
Place Excavated
North America, Mexico, Campeche, Maya area, Jaina Island or vicinity
Culture
Period
Type
Techniques
Subject
February 5, 1970, José Palomeque sold to Gillett G. Griffin (1928-2016), Princeton, NJ [1]; 2014, sold to the Princeton University Art Museum.
Notes:
[1] According to Griffin’s Notebook 5-14.
- Gerald Berjonneau, Emile Deletaille, and Jean-Louis Sonnery, Rediscovered Masterpieces of Mesoamerica: Mexico-Guatemala-Honduras (Boulogne: Editions Arts, 1985)., cat. no. 31 (illus.)
- Marilyn M. Goldstein and Lourdes Suárez Diez, Conchas Precolombinas: Mesoamerican Art Created from Seashells (Brookville, Hillwood Art Museum, Longwood Island University, C.W. Post Campus, 1997)., (b) cat. no. 181 (illus.)
- "Acquisitions of the Princeton University Art Museum 2014", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 74 (2015): p. 55-77., p. 60 (color illus.)
