The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

Orange pottery with traces of white and blue pigment of a kneeling warrior, hand holding a rectangular shield over the left side of their body while their right arm ends above the bicep. The warrior wears a shell pendant, and large circular earrings, thick cylindrical tendrils sprouting from the top of their head. Their face, tilted slightly to their right, has facial hair on their upper lip and chin and is covered in winding tattoos.

Warrior Figurine with Shield

600–900

Mexico, Classic Maya, Jaina style

molded and modeled pottery with traces of pigment
Overall: 17.3 x 9.2 x 7.9 cm (6 13/16 x 3 5/8 x 3 1/8 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener 1990.178
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Elaborate facial tattoos and a bivalve pendent identify this warrior as a sajal, a second-tier noble.

Description

Maya figurines portray a wide range of human, animals, and supernatural beings. This example represents a kneeling warrior who holds a rectangular shield and wears elaborate ornaments, including huge ear spools. The expressive, delicate head was made in a mold; the body was hand modeled.
  • ?-1961
    (Stendahl Art Galleries, Los Angeles, CA, 1961, sold to James C. and Florence C. Gruener)
    1961-1990
    James C. [1903-1990] and Florence C. [1908-1982] Gruener, Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1990
    The Cleveland Museum of Art
  • Young-Sánchez, Margaret. "The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 79, no. 7 (1992): 234-75. Referenced: cat. no. 86, p. 272, Reproduced: fig 86, p. 257 www.jstor.org
  • The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-November 29, 1992).
  • {{cite web|title=Warrior Figurine with Shield|url=false|author=|year=600–900|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1990.178