This large Mayan plate portrays an elaborately
decorated man wearing a feathered headdress,
into which a bird is speaking. This graceful figure
is encircled by hieroglyphs that accent the
circumference of the plate. He stands with
austere confidence, holding a weapon-like
object. In Mayan civilization such plates were
essential items because the plates were often
decorated with royal portraiture of a ruler the
plates, thus, describe reigning eras of rulers who
were considered as semi-divine beings with
royal heritage and spiritual power the figure on
the Mayan plate displays numerous signs of such
status and power he shows cranial deformation,
a sign of noble beauty, and wears elaborate
headdress. He also wears jade ear spools and
fancy clothing. The most interesting point of this
plate, however, is the act of communication
between the ruler and the bird-- perhaps one of
many Mayan gods. The ruler's gesture and the
marks that resemble speech scroll from the
bird’s open beak signify communication, the
ruler's spiritual power of interacting with a god.
The headdress was associated with gods in
Mayan civilization and it sometimes took shapes
of various gods. Perhaps some rulers
communicated with gods through their
headdress. The glyphs around the plate perhaps
convey the ruler's name and the dales of his
reigning era. As such usage of hieroglyphs
illustrate, the Mayans had extremely complex
hieroglyphic system of names, dates, and
cosmos. Like pages of a book, this beautiful
plate describes a period in history with elegant
lines, colors, shapes, and hieroglyphs.
- (PF.2910)
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