Mayan Polychrome Cylindrical Vessel

This rich, orange colored Mayan vessel is beautifully decorated with dark, spontaneous lines that portray hieroglyph-like designs and animal figures of the underworld. Many of the Mayan utilitarian pottery were used for ritual and funerary purposes. Conforming to such uses, curious underworld animal figures are intertwined around the vessel. Line qualities are spontaneous and swift and thickness of these lines varies from thin hairlines to the short, thicker lines. The remarkably strong and yet fluid lines elegantly capture the intertwining animals’ curving and arching movements. The contrast of the black figures and lines on rich orange surface generates boldness and energy. Such fascinating, detailed depiction of beings from the underworld reveals how strongly Mayans believed in the afterlife.