Incense-burner Cover

Description

This elaborate clay construction served as the cover and chimney of a basin used to burn copal incense. Although probably manufactured in what is now Guatemala, the form and fabrication are based on examples from Teotihuacan in central Mexico, hundreds of miles away. Intensive trade between the two regions, or even a Teotihuacan colony in Guatemala seems likely. The masked, dressed, and ornamented moundlike form probably represents a mortuary bundle or a cult image.

Provenance

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Incense-burner Cover

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c. 500

Accession Number

1969.25

Medium

earthenware with slip and pigments

Dimensions

Overall: 44.8 x 43 x 31.5 cm (17 5/8 x 16 15/16 x 12 3/8 in.)

Classification

Ceramic

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund