Narrative images of accession rituals describe
the transformation of a human being into a king,
the wielder of sacred authority. The Mayans
believed that the Mayan king was the earthly
incarnation of the gods. The king declared
himself to be the causal force that perpetuated
the social and cosmic order. There are three
stages of a man depicted on this vessel. The
three stages appear to be birth, youth and
maturity. By the Early Classic period (ca. 200 -
600AD), the transformation of humans into kings
had been formalized into a precise ritual
consisting of several stages that seems to have
been used at most sites. The mouth of the snake
represents heaven, and the gods who sanctify
divine rulership emerge from the mouth. On this
vessel, there appears to be a noble person,
perhaps a king, facing the mouth of a snake. The
snake is beautifully adorned with feathers and
other intricacies in red, pink, light blue and
mauve. The hands and arms gesture of the noble
person is profoundly associated with accession
and the symbolic definition of kingship; thus, we
may assume that he is a king. The next stage to
the right includes another mouth, portrayed
differently than the first, and a young boy who
may have been "belched forth" from the mouth
of the previous serpent. In Mayan mythology,
serpents "belch forth" gods. The young boy is
portrayed with the hands and arms gesture,
which is indicative of accession and kingship, as
well. The king holds forth an unidentified object
to the young boy. There is a glyph seated
between the two figures, which may signify the
history and significance of this royal ritual and
identify who these two seated figures are.
Depicted in the last stage, which we refer to as
"maturity", reveals the young boy as an adult
male. There is a different glyph placed between
the two figures and the serpent's mouth is
different, as well. Perhaps this is the final stage
of the boy's life where hebecomes the ruling
king. The artist has utilized the accompanying
hieroglyphic text not only for recording the
depicted scene, but also as a compositional
device to segment the pictorial field. For the
ancient Mayan and many other Mesoamerican
cultures, the function of public art was to define
the nature of political power and its role as a
causal force in the universe. This vessel most
probably defines their social order and their
perception of how the universe worked. We are
drawn again and again through this beautiful and
complex composition, compelled to further
enrich our understanding and appreciation of the
this wondrous and mystical culture and refined
artistry.
- (PF.3102)
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