Cleveland Museum of Art

Warrior Figurine with Removable Headdress

Date

600–900

Medium

earthenware with pigment

Culture

Mexico, Yucatán, Jaina Island region, Campeche, Maya style (250-900)

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The major offerings placed in the Maya graves of Jaina Island were ceramic figurines, some of Mesoamerica's finest, that depict deities and humans in a variety of roles. This warrior, his headdress removable, once probably held weapons and wears either quilted cotton armor or the feathered uniform of a military order. We don't know why such figures are often pot-bellied. Maya blue pigment was made by combining clay with indigo in a complex technique developed around the ninth century.

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