Vessel of the Dancing Lords
Ah Maxam
750–800 CE
According to ancient Maya belief, after several failed attempts the gods succeeded in populating the earth when they created humanity out of maize, the staff of life. In the Popol Vuh, a sixteenth-century epic of the K’iche’ Maya, the death and resur¬rection of the maize god was likened to seed corn that sprouted and produced new life. This vessel from the Late Classic period (600–800) depicts a Maya ruler attired as the maize god in three almost-identical panels. On his back, the ruler wears an enormous rack containing brilliant feathers, heraldic beasts, and related emblems. Just as maize plants sway to and fro, the maize god dances to the rhythm of life—often, as seen here, in the company of a dwarf. Among the Maya, dwarfs were seen as special beings with powerful spiritual connections to the earth and the interior world below. This vase refers to a rite of passage in which dwarfs assist the soul of the deceased into the domain of the dead, from which it would eventually be reborn in the royal lineage, just as maize sprouts again in the cycle of nature’s renewal. This vase of the Dancing Lords may have been painted as a funerary offering for a noblewoman with dynastic connections in the city of Naranjo, where it was made.
| Title | Vessel of the Dancing Lords |
|---|---|
| Artist | Ah Maxam |
| Date | 750–800 CE |
| Medium | Ceramic and pigment |
| Style | maya |
| Dimensions | 24 × 15.8 cm (9 1/2 × 6 1/4 in.) |
About Ah Maxam
Active in the mid- to late eighth century, Ah Maxam was a member of the royal lineage of the kingdom of Naranjo, in the Petén region of Guatemala. Although we know little about his life, his works Vessel of the Dancing Lords (AD 750/800) and Water-Lily Vessel (AD 750/800) attest to his refined abilities as an artist.
The simple and elegant designs of his vessels, executed with a perfectly controlled brush, incorporate natural elements, religious scenes, and hieroglyphic text, highlighting important features and beliefs of Mayan culture. As its name implies, Water-Lily Vessel is painted with water lilies, which for the Maya symbolized the watery surface of the underworld and the earth’s regenerative powers. The informative inscription on Water-Lily Vessel—the first to be deciphered on a Classic Maya vessel—states the artist’s name, declaring that Ah Maxam is a member of the nobility of Naranjo. It also mentions his mother and father, whose names appear on other dynastic monuments from the region.
According to ancient Maya belief, the gods only succeeded in populating the earth when they shaped humanity from maize, the staff of life. Ah Maxam’s Vessel of the Dancing Lords depicts a Maya ruler dressed as the maize god in three almost-identical panels. The ruler wears an enormous rack containing brilliant feathers, heraldic beasts, and related emblems, and is shown in the company of a dwarf. To the Maya aristocracy, dwarfs were special beings, with powerful connections to the earth and the underworld, the home of the ancestral dead. Consequently, the vase may refer to a rite of passage in which dwarfs assist the soul of the deceased to the land of the dead. Vessel of the Dancing Lords may have been painted as a funerary offering for a noblewoman with dynastic connections in the city of Naranjo, where it was made.