Hieroglyphic Altar

Description

This altar depicts the head and torso of an individual wearing an ornate headdress and a large, woven mat pectoral emblem of rulership. He appears within a four-lobed cartouche, suggesting that he is a deceased ancestor who lives in the Underworld. The hieroglyphs that surround the figure describe the commemoration of a monument or structure; the text carved around the sides of the monument celebrate a successor’s completion of six years of kingship.

Hieroglyphic Altar

Maya

650–700

Accession Number

37817

Medium

Limestone

Dimensions

21.6 × 37.5 × 41.9 cm (8 1/2 × 14 3/4 × 16 1/2 in.)

Classification

stone

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Baker