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Cylinder vase
Maya
Late Classic Period
AD 650–800
Object Place: Waká-El Perú area, Guatemala, northwestern Petén
Medium/Technique
Earthenware with red, orange, black and white on cream slip decoration
Dimensions
Overall: 19.1 x 15.9 cm (7 1/2 x 6 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Lavinia and Landon T. Clay
Accession Number2003.775
CollectionsAmericas
ClassificationsCeramics – Pottery – Earthenware
Catalogue Raisonné
Kerr 1092
DescriptionCylinder vessel painted on the exterior with a narrative scene comprising ten men drinking a fermented beverage and smoking potent native tobacco as part of a solemn rite. The drink, made from honey or agave and flavored with savory leaves, is contained in jars marked with the hieroglyph ki or chi, which in Lowland Mayan languages refers to sweet substances. The hieroglyphic text around the rim of the vase states that it was the kakaw (chocolate) drinking vessel of a nobleman from the Hix Witz polity located in northwestern Guatemala. The smaller texts in the scene divide it into three parts and name the participants including the title "drunken one" for the slouching man supported by two attendants.
ProvenanceJuly 1, 1980, sold by Alphonse Jax (dealer), New York, to Landon and Lavinia Clay, Boston; 2003, year-end gift of Landon and Lavinia Clay to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 21, 2004)