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Carved plaque
Maya
Late Classic Period
A.D. 550–800
Object Place: Guatemala or Honduras
Medium/Technique
Jadeite
Dimensions
9.4 x 10.5 x 1.2 cm (3 11/16 x 4 1/8 x 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Landon T. Clay
Accession Number1988.1191
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Pectorals
This double image of a "k'uk'-mo' " (a macaw/quetzal bird) refers to a supernatural locale of sacred authority. The two-headed, feathered serpent atop the birds denotes the sky, and the entwined serpents below indicate the earth, thereby completing the geographic representation of this mythic place.
DescriptionJadeite plaque carved with a double rendering of a composite quetzal-macaw bird, with the short crest of a quetzal bird and the hooked beak of a macaw. Above the back-to-back rendering of the bird heads is a double-headed feathered serpent, and below them are two entwined serpents. A suspension hole is drilled horizonally through the plaque.
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.
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.