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Carved plaque

A.D. 550–800
Object PlaceGuatemala or Honduras
Medium/TechniqueJadeite
Dimensions9.4 x 10.5 x 1.2 cm (3 11/16 x 4 1/8 x 1/2 in.)
Credit LineGift of Landon T. Clay
Accession number1988.1191
On View
On view
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment
Collections
Description
This double image of a "k'uk'-mo' " (a macaw/quetzal bird) refers to a supernatural locale of sacred authority. The two-headed, feathered serpent atop the birds denotes the sky, and the entwined serpents below indicate the earth, thereby completing the geographic representation of this mythic place.
ProvenanceBetween about 1974 and 1981, probably purchased in Guatemala by John B. Fulling (b. 1924 – d. 2005), The Art Collectors of November, Inc., Pompano Beach, FL; May 20, 1987, sold by John B. Fulling to Landon T. Clay, Boston; 1988, year-end gift of Landon Clay to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 25, 1989)

NOTE: This is one in a group of Maya artifacts (MFA accession nos. 1988.1169 – 1988.1299) known as the “November Collection” after John Fulling’s company, the Art Collectors of November, Inc. John Fulling sold this group of objects to MFA donor Landon Clay in 1987, and they were given to the Museum the following year.
Evidence suggests that John Fulling built the November Collection from sources in Guatemala between 1974 and 1981. Only a portion of what he acquired during this time came to the MFA in 1988. It is not possible to determine precisely which objects were acquired when or from whom.