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Vessel with the rebirth of the Maize God

Maya

Not on view

Reclining on his back with arms and legs bent, the Maize God adopts the conventional pose that artists employed to depict babies. In this variation of his aquatic rebirth, he emerges from a cleft head, possibly representing a seed. Below, tadpoles swim in dark waters. The vessel was left as an offering in an elite tomb at the powerful city of Calakmul. Its decoration, evoking the Maize God’s death and rebirth, provided an optimistic model for the death and afterlife of rulers.

Vasija con el renacimiento del dios del maíz
Tumba 1, Estructura II, Calakmul, Campeche, México
Siglo VII al VIII
Cerámica, pigmento

Recostado sobre su espalda, con las piernas y brazos plegados, el dios del maíz adopta la postura convencional con la que se solía representar a los bebés. En esta versión de su renacimiento acuático, nace de una cabeza hendida que, posiblemente, representa una semilla. Abajo, hay renacuajos nadando en aguas oscuras. La vasija formaba parte de la ofrenda de una tumba de élite de la poderosa ciudad de Calakmul. Su decoración, que remite a la representación de la muerte y resurrección de esta deidad, ofrecía una visión optimista de la muerte y la vida en el más allá de los gobernantes.

Vessel with the rebirth of the Maize God, Ceramic, pigment, Maya

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Secretaría de Cultura–Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH), Mexico, reproduction authorized by INAH; photo by Jorge Perez de Lara