Plaque

600–900 CE
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
This Classic Maya–style shell pendant, which was found perhaps as much as a thousand miles from where it was made, depicts a seated ruler wearing jade jewelry and an elaborate headdress on one side and a diagonal series of incised Maya glyphs on the other. Evidence of reuse suggests that it was an important heirloom.



Este pendiente de concha encontrado en Tula fue originalmente elaborado en el período Clásico maya. Representa a un gobernante sentado con joyas de jade y un elaborado tocado. Del otro lado, se puede observar una serie de glifos mayas incididos en diagonal. La evidencia de su reutilización sugiere que debe haber sido una herencia importante.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Plaque
  • Date: 600–900 CE
  • Geography: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, or Honduras; Mexico, Hidalgo
  • Culture: Maya
  • Medium: Shell (Pinctada mazatlanica)
  • Dimensions: 3 3/4 × 2 5/16 × 5/16 in. (9.5 × 5.8 × 0.8 cm)
  • Classification: Shell-Ornaments
  • Credit Line: Field Museum, Chicago (95075)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing