Polychrome Vase

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Culture Maya

Title Polychrome Vase

Date 700–800

Medium Clay and pigment

Dimensions Object: 6 1/16 × 4 11/16 in. (15.4 × 11.9 cm)
Overall: 6 1/16 x 4 11/16 in. (15.4 x 11.9 cm)

Credit Line Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 80.114

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About this Work

Almost all Maya pictorial ceramics have been found in the tombs of elite individuals. As burial offerings, such ceramics were accompanied by a variety of other objects, all meant both to honor the deceased and to help him or her pass successfully through the dangers of the underworld, so that the soul could attain rebirth or deification. Their presence as tomb offerings is one factor that has led many scholars to believe that most Maya pictorial ceramics, including this one, depict scenes from the underworld. On this vase, for example, God N, one of the rulers of the underworld, can be recognized, though the other three figures remain unidentified.

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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Polychrome Vase | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=80.114