Art Institute of Chicago

Vessel Depicting a Sacrificial Ceremony for a Royal Accession

Late Classic Maya

Date

750–800, probably 753

Medium

Ceramic and pigment

Culture

Mexico

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This vessel, used to consume a chocolate drink, depicts a key event in a royal Maya accession ceremony, which shows the relationship between human sacrifice and the assumption of power. The expectant king is flanked by servants, musicians, and masked nobles, while a terrified captive—bound to a scaffold—awaits his death. It is probable that the victim was a warrior from a rival community defeated by the prospective king during a coronation war. Such sacrifices were required as proof of a new ruler’s military abilities, provided an offering to his patron gods, and served as a sign of the triumphant reign to follow.

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