Cleveland Museum of Art

Incense Burner Support

Date: 600–900
Medium: pottery with polychrome
Culture: Mexico, Chiapas, Palenque Region, Maya, Classic period
Department: Art of the Americas
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID: 155447

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

This stand, made of a large tube with side panels, originally held a bowl used to ritually burn incense. Modeled on the front is a group that includes the Maya sun deity and two flanking, profile figures in lower relief. All are supported by a turtle, a symbol of the earth and the underworld. Thus, the ensemble may be a model of the cosmos. Calcium deposits indicate this incense burner was found in a cave, which the Maya viewed as entrances to the underworld.

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Provenance & credit

As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.

Credit line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener
Provenance: ?-before 1959: Wolfgang Paalen, sold? to Black Tulip Galleries, Inc., Dallas, TX | ?-1959: (Black Tulip Galleries, Inc., Dallas, TX, 1959, sold to James C. and Florence C. Gruener) | 1959-1990: 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