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Cylinder vase

650–750 AD
Object PlaceEl Petén, Guatemala
Medium/TechniqueEarthenware: orange, red, dark pink, brown, gray (originally green), and black on cream slip paint; traces of "Maya Blue" pigment
Dimensions17.2 x 11.8 cm (6 3/4 x 4 5/8 in.)
Credit LineGift of Landon T. Clay
Accession number1988.1176
On View
On view
ClassificationsCeramics
Collections
Description
A Maya lord prepares to perform as an old god; a noble lady holds his dance mask. The lord gazes into a mirror held by an attendant while his body is painted in preparation for the performance.
InscriptionsPrimary Standard Sequence, nominal phrases, scene descriptive phrase.
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.
Cylinder vase
A.D. 755–780
Censer stand
700–800
Cylinder vase
A.D. 550–650
Cylinder vase
A.D. 650–800
Cylinder vase
A.D. 740–780
Cylinder vase
A.D. 680–780
Person contemplating something in hand
750–770 AD
Pedestal bowl
A.D. 675–800
Restricted
A.D. 650–800
View 1
A.D. 600–800
Cylinder vase
A.D. 725–760
Drinking cup
A.D. 400–500