PRECOLUMBIAN ART : INCLUDING A SELECTION OF ... - Lempertz

132
*223
MAYAN POLYCHROME CYLINDER VASE
LATE CLASSIC
Ca. A. D. 550-950
Painted with a complex mythical procession possibly illustrating
a key episode in the Popol Vuh with the Hero Twins, composed of
four dignitaries, each with black painted bodies, two sporting jaguar
pelts and their bodies painted with jaguar markings and belts with
a fi shnet pattern, each holding an implement,
possibly a torch, alternating with three costumed
fi gures, including one in a jaguar costume with a
fi shnet costume, resembling serpent skin or fi sh
scales, and this neck wrapped in knotted scarf associated
with sacrifi ce, another in a supernatural
costume of a sacred beast with little dots(blood?)
emanating from his raised left hand and a third
dancing personage in fantastic helmet with a
fl owing jaguar skin cape and jaguar tattoos on
his arms holding a copal(?) bag, with a band of
glyphs around the rim, in pale and dark orange,
pink and black.
The Maya Hero Twins are the central fi gures of
a narrative included within the colonial Quiché
document called Popol Vuh and constituting the
oldest Maya myth to have been preserved in
its entirety. Called Hunahpu and Xbalanque in
Quiché, the Twins have also been identifi ed in
the ceramic art of the Classic Mayas (200-900 AD).
The Twin motif recurs in many Native American
mythologies; the Mayan Twins in particular could
be considered as mythical ancestors to the Mayan
ruling lineages. In one episode, the Twins answered
a summons to entertain the Lords of the
Xibalba, the Underworld. Their identities remained
secret as they donned costumes, claiming
to be orphans and vagabonds. Incognito they
went through their gamut of miracles, slaying a
dog and bringing it back from the dead, causing
the Lords’ house to burn around them while the
inhabitants were unharmed, and then bringing
the house back from the ashes. In a climactic
performance, Xbalanque cut Hunahpu apart and
off ered him as a sacrifi ce, only to have the older
brother rise once again from the dead. Enthralled
by the performance, One Death and Seven Death,
the highest lords of Xibalba, demanded that the
miracle be performed upon them. The Twins obliged
by killing and off ering the lords as a sacrifi ce,
but predictably did not bring them back from
the dead. The twins then shocked the Xibalbans
by revealing their identities as Hunahpu and
Xbalanque.
Height 16.5 cm
Provenance
New York Collection
€ 7 500 – 9 500