On view
Art of the Ancient Americas
Plate depicting a cormorant,
600–800
Maya
Late Classic Period
2016-1220
The artist who made this plate used multiple techniques and brushes in a tour de force of quick, sure painting. The swirling strokes of the red background may refer to the bloody waters of the mythical river that ran through the underworld, or perhaps they mimic the sauce that likely accompanied maize-dough tamales served from the plate. The same red was applied to the interior walls in regular, short strokes. Thin, flowing strokes in black render the cormorant, a water bird of mythological importance due to its comfort in the three cosmic realms: water, earth, and sky.
Information
Title
Plate depicting a cormorant
Dates
600–800
Medium
Buff ceramic with slip-paint
Dimensions
h. 5.5, diam. 32 cm (2 3/16 × 12 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Gillett G. Griffin
Object Number
2016-1220
Place Made
North America, Belize, Guatemala, or Mexico, Maya area
Marks/Labels/Seals
White rectangular sticker on bottom [Collector number]: 743
Reference Numbers
K5341
MS2098
MS2098
Culture
Period
Type
Subject
Acquired by Gillett G. Griffin (1928-2016), Princeton, NJ, by December 1973 [1]; promised bequest to the Princeton University Art Museum, 2016. [1] According to dated slides.
- Dorie Reents-Budet, Painting the Maya Universe: Royal Ceramics of the Classic Period (Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1994)., fig. 2.4, cat. no. 89, p. 39 (illus.); pp. 356–357 (illus.); fig. 2.26, pp. 57 (illus.)
-
"Acquisitions of the Princeton University Art Museum 2016," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 75/76 (2016-17): 126-157.
, p. 142
