On view
Defiant bound captive,
600–900
Ceramic figurines associated with the islands of Jaina and Uaymil, off the west coast of Campeche, Mexico, provide an exceptionally rich record of noble Maya costume and adornment, including variations related to gender and courtly position. Looters disinterred hundreds of such figurines, all presumably associated with burials. The works vary dramatically in terms of detail and mode of manufacture, with some meticulously shaped by hand, others pressed from clay molds, and yet others fabricated through a combination of molded and modeled components. Many of the figurines produce sound, as rattles filled with clay pellets or as whistles, some producing multiple tones. The sound likely served to enliven and spiritually animate the subjects of these works. Although archaeological data is limited, individuals were buried with one or a few figurines, but they do not generally accord with the status or gender of the interred.
Bound arms and nudity indicate that this figure is a captive. A well-nourished belly and calm countenance point to his status as a noble and
thus prized prisoner. Empty holes in the ears may have held simple white paper strips, a common adornment of Maya captives prepared for
sacrifice. His missing lower legs and genitalia, as well as his bashed and broken nose, possibly signal mutilation and torture. Hair made of a perishable material may have been attached to the recesses on the head.
More About This Object
Information
600–900
North America, Mexico, Campeche, Maya area, Jaina Island or vicinity
- 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. 52, 153, 168 (illus.)
- Linda Schele, Hidden Faces of the Maya (Poway: ALTI Publishing, 1997)., pl. 23, p. 116 (illus.)
- Nikolai Grube, ed., Maya: Gottkönige im Regenwald (Köln: Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft, 2000)., p. 451 (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)
- "Acquisitions of the Princeton University Art Museum 2003," Record of the Princeton University Art Museum 63 (2004): p. 101-141., p. 107 (illus.)
- Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), p. 263 (illus.)
- "Mysteries of the Maya: the rise, glory and collapse of an ancient civilization," National Geographic Collector's Edition (Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2008)., p. 70 (illus.)
- 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.)
- Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collections (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Art Museum, 2013), p. 279
