Ornaments

7th–8th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 999
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
These ornaments show aquatic deities with fins in the cheeks and above the nose. They were made from the red shell of the spiny tropical bivalve Spondylus. Highly appreciated for their color and shape, such shells were imported into the Maya region from warm waters off the Pacific coast.


Ornamentos
Estructura 5C-49, Tikal, Guatemala
Siglo VII al VIII
Concha Spondylus


Estos adornos muestran deidades acuáticas con aletas en las mejillas y sobre la nariz. Están hechos de concha de Spondylus, una bivalva espinosa tropical. Este material era muy apreciado por su color y su forma, y llegaba a la región maya desde las costas del Pacífico.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Ornaments
  • Date: 7th–8th century
  • Geography: Guatemala, Tikal
  • Culture: Maya
  • Medium: Spondylus shell (spondylus princeps)
  • Dimensions: (a) H. 13/16 × W. 13/16 × THK. 1/8 in. (2.1 × 2.1 × 0.3 cm); (b) H. 13/16 × W. 13/16 × THK. 1/8 in. (2 × 2.1 × 0.3 cm)
  • Classification: Stone-Ornaments
  • Credit Line: Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala City, Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes de Guatemala
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing