Artwork Page for Shell with Seated Noble

Details / Information for Shell with Seated Noble

Shell with Seated Noble

600–900

Mexico or Central America, Maya

Medium
conch shell
Measurements
Overall: 16.6 x 7.9 x 3.5 cm (6 9/16 x 3 1/8 x 1 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
The Norweb Collection 1965.550
Public Domain
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Location
233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region
Print
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Did You Know?

A Maya nobleman smokes a cigar as he reaches toward a shell with a serpent.

Description

This plaque, perhaps meant to be held in the hand for close viewing, is delicately incised with a ruler who leans toward a serpent-headed conch shell at the lower left. The lord, who smokes a cigar, is simply dressed in a loincloth; a band of body paint or tattoos appears on his chest.
Seashell colored, rectangular piece of a conch shell that is carved with a cross-legged person, leaning forward and reaching towards a dragon squeezed into the lower left corner. The person's head extends seamlessly into an animal head that faces up with a long snout and large, loopy ears. Faintly incised lines create geometric patterns on the person's chest and a cigar extending from their mouth, puffs of smoke curling out from it.

Shell with Seated Noble

600–900

Mexico or Central America, Maya

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