On view
Art of the Ancient Americas
Warrior holding a shield,
600–800
Maya
Late Classic Period
y1991-69
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.
More About This Object
Information
Title
Warrior holding a shield
Dates
600–800
Medium
Ceramic with polychrome paint
Dimensions
22.3 × 10.8 × 6.8 cm (8 3/4 × 4 1/4 × 2 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Gillett G. Griffin
Object Number
y1991-69
Place Excavated
North America, Mexico, Campeche, Maya area, Jaina Island or vicinity
Reference Numbers
LC-f5-46 (Maya Photographic Archive, Dumbarton Oaks)
Culture
Period
Type
Materials
May 15, 1962, Aaron Furman, New York, sold to Gillett G. Griffin (1928-2016), Princeton, NJ [1]; 1991, gift of Gillett G. Griffin to the Princeton University Art Museum.
Notes:
[1] The Furman invoice in the curatorial file notes the sale of a Jaina figurine without additional description. A Griffin index card (M25) confirms this purchase from Furman.
- Linda Schele and Mary E. Miller, The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art (New York and Fort Worth, George Braziller, Inc. and Kimbell Art Museum, 1986)., pl. 93, p. 228 (illus.)
- "Acquisitions of the Art Museum 1991," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 51, no. 1 (1992): p. 22-78., p. 51
- Linda Schele, Hidden Faces of the Maya (Poway: ALTI Publishing, 1997)., pl. 23, p. 116 (illus.)
- Mary E. Miller and Simon Martin, Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya (San Francisco: Fine Arts Museum of San Fransisco, 2004)., pl. 13, p. 42 (illus., image reversed)
- Stephen D. Houston, David Stuart, and Karl Taube, The Memory of Bones: Body, Being, and Experience among the Classic Maya (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2006)., fig. 1.53, pp. 49–50; fig. 7.2, p. 229
