On view
Art of the Ancient Americas
Moon goddess and rabbit,
600–900
Maya
Late Classic Period
2016-1123
Although they may seem an odd couple to Western viewers, the pairing of a young woman and a rabbit, as seen on this figurine, made perfect sense to the ancient Maya. Where Westerners see the face of a man on the moon, the people of Mesoamerica saw a rabbit. The young woman is the moon goddess; we know from imagery on other Maya art that she gave birth to the rabbit-moon. The Maya moon goddess was associated with women’s procreative powers, probably in part due to the parallel nature of lunar and menstrual cycles. Other Maya imagery suggests that the rabbit’s father may have been K’ihnich Ajaw, the sun god.
Information
Title
Moon goddess and rabbit
Dates
600–900
Medium
Ceramic with traces of red and Maya blue pigment
Dimensions
h. 12.4 cm., w. 7.7 cm., d. 5.4 cm. (4 7/8 x 3 x 2 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Gillett G. Griffin
Object Number
2016-1123
Place Excavated
North America, Mexico, Campeche, Maya area, Jaina Island or vicinity
Culture
Period
Type
Subject
October 30, 1965, Judith Small Galleries, Inc. (S111) sold to Gillett G. Griffin (1928-2016), Princeton, NJ [1]; 2016, bequest of Gillett G. Griffin to the Princeton University Art Museum.
Notes:
[1] According to an invoice in the curatorial file.
- Mary Ellen Miller, Jaina Figurines: A Study of Maya Iconography (Princeton: The Princeton University Art Museum, 1975)., p. 42 (illus.)
- Howard La Fay, “The Maya, Children of Time,” National Geographic 148, no. 6 (Dec 1975): 729-766., p. 749 (illus.)
- Linda Schele, Hidden Faces of the Maya (Poway: ALTI Publishing, 1997)., pl. 23, p. 116 (illus.)
-
Andrea Stone and Mark Zender, Reading Maya Art: A Hieroglyphic Guide to Ancient Maya Painting and Sculpture (London: Thames and Hudson, 2011).
, fig. 2, p. 198 (illus.), 243 - Donald McVicker, "Figurines Are Us? The Social Organization of Jaina Island, Campeche, Mexico," in Ancient Mesoamerica 23, no. 2 (Fall, 2012): p. 211-234., p. 220 (illus.)
- Vernon James Knight, Iconographic Method in New World Archaeology (Cambridge; New York: Cambrige University Press, 2013).
