On view
Elderly woman and infant,
600–800
More Context
Special Exhibition
Elderly women in Mesoamerica frequently served as midwives and cared for young children. The two figurines displayed here confirm the long history and range of this tradition, as they were produced some 1,000 years apart and in far-flung areas of Mexico. The example from Xochipala (y1982-14) incorporates striking anatomical detail in both the woman and the infant, although both are devoid of emotion. In contrast, the expression on the face of the Maya woman (2003-26) seems kind, her gentle touch of the child nurturing. This figurine depicts the same goddess, Chak Chel, who was featured at the beginning of this exhibition in her oppositional, dangerous aspect. While Chak Chel was associated with disease, she was also a patroness of midwives.
More About This Object
Information
600–800
North America, Mexico, Campeche, Maya area, Jaina Island or vicinity
May 12, 1962, Furman Gallery, New York, sold to Gillett G. Griffin (1928-2016), Princeton, NJ [1]; 2003, gift of Gillett G. Griffin to the Princeton University Art Museum.
Notes:
[1] According to the Furman Gallery invoice in the curatorial file.
- Karl A. Taube, "The Birth Vase: Natal Imagery in Ancient Maya Myth and Ritual," In The Maya Vase Book, Vol. 4, ed. Justin Kerr (New York: Kerr Associates, 1994).
- Linda Schele, Hidden Faces of the Maya (Poway: ALTI Publishing, 1997)., pl. 25, 118 (illus.)
- "Acquisitions of the Princeton University Art Museum 2003," Record of the Princeton University Art Museum 63 (2004): p. 101-141., p. 123
- Mary E. Miller and Simon Martin, Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya (San Francisco: Fine Arts Museum of San Fransisco, 2004)., pl. 44, 90 (illus.)
- Mary E. Miller, "Rethinking Jaina: Goddesses, Skirts, and the Jolly Roger," Record of the Princeton University Art Museum 64 (2005): 63–70., p. 65, fig. 1
- 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. 228 (illus.)
