The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 27, 2024

Artisan

Artisan

250–600 CE
(250-900), Maya style (250-900)
Overall: 59 x 26 x 22 cm (23 1/4 x 10 1/4 x 8 11/16 in.)

Description

These figures represent the supernatural patrons of the visual arts and writing: the brothers Hun Batz and Hun Chuen ("One Monkey" and "One Artisan"). The two were refined artists but also bullies who tormented their younger brothers, who took revenge by transforming their elders into monkeys. Many Maya representations of the painter-scribes immortalize this fate by depicting the pair with both simian and human features, as here. The brothers are shown engaged in artistic or scribal pursuits. Sitting on high-domed bases that may have served as the lids of incense or offering bowls, each apparently once grasped a tool in his upper hand—for instance, a paint brush or a stylus for writing. In the lower hand, one cradles a small mask and the other, a piece of bark that likely refers to the beaten bark from which the Maya made books.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisitions to the Cleveland Museum of Art Collection,” August 26, 1994, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
  • Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. National Gallery of Art, Landover, MD (April 4-July 25, 2004); Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA (September 4, 2004-January 2, 2005).
    Washington, D.C.: The National Gallery of Art; April 4- July 25, 2004. San Francisco, CA: The California Palace of the Legion of Honor; September 4, 2004- January 2, 2005. "Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya." ex. cat.no. 66, p.135.
    Brussels. Belgium: Musees Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire; September 25- December 27, 1992. "Tresors de Nouveau Monde." repr. cat. nos. 178- 179.
  • {{cite web|title=Artisan|url=false|author=|year=250–600 CE|access-date=27 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1994.12.2