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Incense burner lid

Maya
Early Classic Period
A.D. 400–550
Object Place: Departament of Tiquisate, Guatemala

Medium/Technique Earthenware: traces of white and yellow post-fire paint
Dimensions 30.1 x 23.9 cm (11 7/8 x 9 7/16 in.)
Credit Line Gift of Landon T. Clay
Accession Number1988.1221a
CollectionsAmericas
ClassificationsCeramicsPotteryEarthenware

DescriptionConically-shaped, Tiquisate-Teotihuacán-style incense burner lid decorated with appliqués representing flowers, shells, water scrolls, and feathered mirrors. The semi-hemispherical top section is a modern restoration of the original form.
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.