Minneapolis Institute of Art

Ceremonial spindle whorl

Maya artist

Date

10th-15th century

Medium

Stone

Culture

Maya

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

According to Maya worldview, the Sun's cyclical journey across the sky, through the underworld, and back again began with the whirling of a spindle. This cosmic relationship is referenced in the carvings which adorn this spindle whorl; the personified sun and its rays of light would be set in motion by the actions of the spinner. The whorl - a fly wheel to give momentum to the rotating spindle - thus becomes a symbol of the world's creation, connecting the creative powers of the gods and the celestial realm with the spinners and weavers on earth. Guatemala, Mexico, Americas

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