Ik’ Style Cylinder Vessel

About the Art

This feasting vessel features a ruler dancing in front of his throne, the hieroglyphic text specifying the event as “seating in office.” The ruler’s name appears in the text and on the two bundles next to his throne, the hieroglyph reading ?wi-WINIK (“?-man/person”). The vase’s pink and dark red hues are typical of the Ik’ polity’s workshops centered at Motul de San José in northern Guatemala.

FEATURED IMAGE
Artist(s) unknown (Guatemala, central Petén lowlands, Motul de San José area, Maya), Ik’ Style Cylinder Vessel, 700–800, earthenware with slip paint, height 7 1/4 inches (18.5 cm). Museum purchase with funds provided by the Honorable Jefferson Patterson and Mr. and Mrs. Richard N. Grant, Jr., 1973.3