Cleveland Museum of Art

Face Fragment

Date: 600–1000
Medium: molded pottery
Culture: Mexico, Palenque region(?), Maya
Department: Art of the Americas
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID: 155452

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

This thick, heavy ceramic face fragment may come from an incensario (incense burner). Several features, including the tau- or T-shaped front teeth, suggest it represents a deity known today only as G1 due to difficulties in translating its Maya name, which is recorded in hieroglyphs. The deity’s meanings are equally elusive, though it seems to be associated with both the sun and water. G1’s distinctive tooth was perhaps inspired by a 63 million-year-old fossilized shark tooth.

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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: ?-1966: David Bramhall, 1966, sold to James C. and Florence C. Gruener | 1966-1990: 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