2014.632.1
Object Title
Codex-Style Vase with Mythological Scene
Measurements
H. 7 1/2 × Diam. 4 7/16 × Circum. 13 7/16 in. (19 × 11.2 × 34.2 cm)
Creation Date
ca. 7th or 8th century
Credit Line
Gift of Justin Kerr in memory of Barbara Kerr, 2014
Museum Name
Culture
Country of Origin
Object Type
Materials / Techniques
Object URL
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/662967?rpp=30&pg=1&ft=kerr&pos=1
Provenance Information
[Spencer Throckmorton, New York, until 1984]; Justin and Barbara Kerr, New York, 1984–2014; given to The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Justin and Barbara Kerr in 2014.
Exhibition Information
The work was on loan to, and on display at, The Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1994 until 2004.
Publication Information
Kerr, Justin, The Maya Vase Book: Volume 2. New York, Kerr Associates. p. 211 (1990); Grube, Nikolai, and Werner Nahm, A Census of Xibalba: A Complete Inventory of Way Characters on Maya Ceramics, included in The Maya Vase Book Vol.4, eds. Barbara Kerr and Justin Kerr, pp. 686-715. New York, Kerr, Associates. New York. p. 688 (1994); Coe, Michael, and Justin Kerr, The Art of the Maya Scribe. New York, Harry N. Abrams. p. 156-157; Fig. 127 (1998); Knowlton, Timothy, The Stone-in-Hand Glyph (1999); Mora-Marin, David, The Structure of the Dedicatory Formula in Classic Lowland Mayan Texts: A Preliminary Typology, p. 28 (1999); Carrasco, Michael David, and Kerry Hull, The Cosmogonic Symbolism of the Corbeled Vault in Maya Architecture. Mexicon XXIV: 26-32. p. 27; Fig. 5 (2002); Zender, Marc, Glyphs for “Handspan” and “Strike” in Classic Maya Ballgame Texts. The PARI Journal 4(4):1-9. Fig 6, p. 5 (2004); Carrasco, Michael David, The Mask Flange Iconographic Complex: The Art, Ritual, and History of a Maya Sacred Image. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation. Department of Art History, University of Texas at Austin. p. 456; Fig. B.7 (2005); Boot, Erik What Happened on the Date 7 Manik’ 5 Who? An Analysis of Text and Image on Kerr Nos. 0717, 7447, and 8457. Wayeb Notes 21. p. 3 (2006); Houston, Stephen, David Stuart, and Karl Taube, The Memory of Bones: Body, Being, and Experience among the Classic Maya. Austin, University of Texas Press. p. 49 Fig. 1.52 (a) (2006); Bassie-Sweet, Karen, Maya Sacred Geography and the Creator Deities. Norman, University of Oklahoma Press. p. 146-147 (2008); Schoenmakers, Paul, Drawing, After Rollout of Vase Ker 2068. Wayeb Drawing Archive (2008); Braakhuis, H.E.M., The Tonsured Maize God and Chicome-Xochitl as Maize Bringers and Culture Heroes: A Gulf Coast Perspective. Wayeb Notes No. 32, Fig. 5 (2009).
Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970
Cumulative facts and circumstances
Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above
The work has provenance to 1983. The work has been published several times in academic journals and books, first in 1990 and including in the recent volume by three of the leading scholars in the field, entitled Memory of Bones (2006). The work has been published on the website Mayavase.com since January 1999 (acc. No. 2068), a site created by the donors and developed in concert with the Foundation for the Advancement in Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. The work was on loan to The Metropolitan Museum of Art for display from 1994 through 2004. This work is a spectacular example of a “codex-style” vessel showing a mythological creation scene. These rare vessels are among the few testaments to the superb calligraphic style of Maya artists and scribes. This vessel of exceptional quality will significantly enhance the Metropolitan Museum’s limited collection of Maya ceramics.
