Hieroglyphic Altar
Maya
650–700
- Medium
- Limestone
- Dimensions
- 21.6 × 37.5 × 41.9 cm (8 1/2 × 14 3/4 × 16 1/2 in.)
- Genre
- stone
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Styles
Tags
stoneHieroglyphsmesoamericanamericasritualancestorslimestonecarbonate rocksedimentary rocklate classicrocksculpturemayainorganic materialclassiccarvingritual objectsArts of the AmericasaltarPre-Columbianinscriptionportraitsart of the americas
About
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.
