Cylindrical Vessel Item Number: 1998.176.2 from the Brooklyn Museum
Description
Polychrome vessel with a procession of warrior figures with trophy heads hanging from their waists surrounding a bound prisoner who has been stripped of his clothes except for a trophy head (possibly a disgraced warrior). The prisoner's penis has been split in two and as blood drips down, he screams in pain (the speech glyphs above his head indicate screaming). The figure behind him holds an executioner's staff topped with a large obsidian knife.
Credit Line
Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller
Label
On this vessel a procession of eleven military victors follows a naked, bound prisoner. The warriors wear tie-dyed textiles with trophy heads suspended from their belts, as well as animal headdresses (see rollout photograph nearby). Comparison with similar military victors depicted on the painted murals of Bonampak’s tomb at Palenque suggests that the headdresses may represent the wearer’s military rank or warrior society.
En este vaso una procesión de once militares victoriosos sigue a un prisionero desnudo y atado. Los guerreros llevan textiles teñidos con cabezas trofeo colgando de sus cinturones, así como tocados animales (ver fotografía panorámica). La comparación con militares victoriosos representados en los murales pintados de la tumba de Bonampak en Palenque sugiere que los tocados pueden representar el rango militar del usuario o su sociedad guerrera.
Item History
- Made between 550 and 950
What
Who
- Culture
- Maya
Where
- Holding Institution
- Brooklyn Museum
When
- Creation Date
- between 550 and 950
Other
- Location
- Arts of the Americas Galleries, 5th Floor
- Classification
- Vessel