Tripod Plate Showing a Seated Lord in its Central Medallion. Maya. A.D. 550 - 800. Polychrome ceramic. Diameter 14 in.. As... (Total: 1 Item Item)

Description

Tripod Plate Showing a Seated Lord in its Central Medallion
Maya
A.D. 550 - 800
Polychrome ceramic
Diameter 14 in.

As one looks down onto this well-preserved tripod plate, a lord facing and gesturing to his right is shown seated cross-legged on a throne. There is a large cushion at his left, which may be making visually explicit an actual throne back. The tall, freely painted headdress shows a grinning, large-eyed deity mask with an upward-curving snout. Feathers turn back and down from the top of the headdress. On the sloping vessel wall four profile stylized cormorants, all facing in the same direction the lord looks, are separated by vertical dividers. On the exterior there is a repeated series of diagonal I-shaped bands, and the tripod legs have three horizontal black stripes. The plate is in the Holmul area painting style, which utilizes subtly nuanced tones of red slip to realize the images (Dorie Reents-Budet. Painting the Maya Universe: Royal Ceramics of the Classic Period. Durham and London: Duke University Press,1994, pp.180 ff.). Clay rattles remain in the hollow legs. There are some root marks, along with a small rim chip on the underside.

Provenance
Christie's, Paris: sale 5057, 12 June 2003: Lot 622, p. 184



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