Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.

Embracing couple

Maya

Not on view

Ceramic figurines provided artists with opportunities to depict lively, sometimes sexually suggestive mythical episodes. Women were depicted individually or interacting with others, including lecherous old men. The man lifting the skirt of a young woman here is both older and smaller than she, features intended to make his amorous approaches appear pathetic and humorous.

A mouthpiece in the back turns these hollow figurines into whistles. Their pigments include Maya blue, obtained through the chemical combination of indigo with a special kind of clay.


Pareja abrazada
México
Siglo VII al IX
Cerámica, pigmento

Las figurillas de cerámica permitían representar episodios míticos muy vívidos, que a veces tienen connotaciones sexuales. Las mujeres se representaban solas o interactuando con otros, incluyendo ancianos lujuriosos. El hombre que alza la falda de la joven es más chico y más viejo que ella; con lo que el encuentro resulta patético y humorístico a la vez.

La boquilla de la parte trasera de estas piezas, huecas por dentro, las convierte en silbatos. Los pigmentos incluyen el azul maya, el cual se obtiene combinando añil con un tipo de arcilla especial.

Embracing couple, Ceramic, pigment, Maya

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.

© Detroit Institute of Arts / Founders Society Purchase, Katherine Margaret Kay Bequest / Bridgeman Images