The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Carved Stone Vessel

Carved Stone Vessel

700–1000
Overall: 27 x 30.3 x 17.4 cm (10 5/8 x 11 15/16 x 6 7/8 in.)

Did You Know?

Carved in the round, the vessel's handles suggest a feline that emerges from a serpent-like head with an upturned snout.

Description

This stone vessel, made by eastern neighbors of the Maya, is one of the finest and largest of its kind. On the exterior are several motifs that combine to create an unusually complex design that features a grotesque head, either in profile or front-facing, with a leg near its mouth. In the main panel a frontal version of the head hovers over two legs, the knees pointed sharply outward. Beside each leg is a lively human, rarely seen in such works. Little is known about the motifs’ meanings or the vessel’s use.
  • -1990
    Emile Deletaille Antiquaire, Brussels Belgium, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1990-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Young-Sánchez, Margaret. "Notable Acquisitions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 78, no. 3 (1991): 63-147. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 115 www.jstor.org
    Schafer, Anne Louise. "On the Edge of the Maya World." Archaeology. vol. 45, no. 2. (March/ April, 1992). p. 51
    Deletaille, Emile, and Lin Deletaille. Trésors du nouveau monde. Bruxelles: Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire, 1992. p. 246
    May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. Knockouts: A Pocket Guide. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. p. 96, no. 106, p. 220
    Luke, Christina Marie. Ulúa Style Marble Vases. 2002. p. 376, fig. E.58
  • Treasures of the New World. Musées Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium (organizer) (September 15-December 25, 1992).
    On the Edge of the Maya World, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (February 23- May 31, 1992).
    Notable Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 15, 1991).
  • {{cite web|title=Carved Stone Vessel|url=false|author=|year=700–1000|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1990.9