Mexico, Yucatán, Jaina Island region, Campeche, Maya style (250-900) / 600–900
Warrior Figurine with Removable Headdress
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Warrior Figurine with Removable Headdress as sculpture (Mexico, Yucatán, Jaina Island region, Campeche, Maya style (250-900) · 600–900).
Maya blue pigment was made by combining clay with indigo in a complex technique developed around the ninth century.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as earthenware with pigment.
The museum's collection notes: The major offerings placed in the Maya graves of Jaina Island were ceramic figurines, some of Mesoamerica's finest, that depict deities and humans in a variety of roles. This warrior, his headdress removable, once probably held weapons and wears either quilted cotton armor or the feathered uniform of a military order. We don't know why such figures are often pot-bellied.
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The Cleveland Museum of ArtWarrior Figurine with Removable HeaddressOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.