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Its pose and jewelry suggest this flamboyantly painted figure may represent a human clad in the skin of a jaguar. Because the jaguar is the largest, most powerful predator in Mesoamerica, it was a natural metaphor for earthly and supernatural power alike.
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Details
- Title: Plate
- Date Created: c. 800
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 6.5 x 41.5 cm (2 9/16 x 16 5/16 in.)
- Provenance: (possibly Stendahl Art Galleries, Los Angeles, CA, 1972, sold to James C. and Florence C. Gruener), James C. [1903-1990] and Florence C. [1908-1982] Gruener, Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Type: Ceramic
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1990.182
- Medium: earthenware with colored slips
- Fun Fact: Apex predators like jaguars are natural power metaphors.
- Department: Art of the Americas
- Culture: Mexico, Campeche, Maya
- Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener
- Collection: AA - Mesoamerica
- Accession Number: 1990.182
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