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Hieroglyphic Altar

A work made of limestone.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of limestone.

Date:

650–700

Artist:

Late Classic Maya
Possibly Bonampak/Lacanha area, Mexico or Guatemala

About this artwork

This altar depicts the head and torso of an individual wearing an ornate headdress and a large, woven mat pectoral emblem of rulership. He appears within a four-lobed cartouche, suggesting that he is a deceased ancestor who lives in the Underworld. The hieroglyphs that surround the figure describe the commemoration of a monument or structure; the text carved around the sides of the monument celebrate a successor’s completion of six years of kingship.

Status

On View, Gallery 136

Department

Arts of the Americas

Culture

Maya

Title

Hieroglyphic Altar

Place

Bonampak (Object made in:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

650 CE–700 CE

Medium

Limestone

Dimensions

21.6 × 37.5 × 41.9 cm (8 1/2 × 14 3/4 × 16 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Baker

Reference Number

1971.895

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/37817/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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