The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

Ceramic figurine rattle with orange showing through the remaining flakes of white and teal paint. The figure has a squared body, arms held up on either side of their smiling face, and legs sticking out from and slightly narrower than their square tunic. Shoulder-length hair with a ridged pattern arcs over their head and a necklace made of a chain of circles hangs down the center of their chest, flanked by two holes.

Female Figurine Rattle

600–900

Mexico, Campeche, Jaina Island, Maya

Ceramic, pigment
Overall: 9.5 x 6.3 x 4.5 cm (3 3/4 x 2 1/2 x 1 3/4 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. S. Weiner of Pepper Pike, OH 1980.127
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This hollow, mold-made figurine contains pellets that transform it into a rattle.

Description

This hollow, mold-made figurine contains pellets that transform it into a rattle used as a musical instrument, perhaps during household rituals.
  • Stories from Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).
    Year in Review: 1980. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (June 24-July 19, 1981).
  • {{cite web|title=Female Figurine Rattle|url=false|author=|year=600–900|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1980.127