Often depicted as a vigorous youth, the Maize God can also be shown as spent. In Maya art, closed eyes signify death, and representations of the Maize God’s head are akin to harvested corn cobs.
Par de ornamentos labrados con el perfil del dios del maíz Sur de México, Guatemala, Honduras o Belice Siglo V al VII Concha
Aunque al dios del maíz se le suele representar como un joven vigoroso, también se le muestra abatido. Estas cabezas del dios semejan mazorcas ya cosechadas y tienen sus ojos cerrados, lo cual en el arte maya indica la muerte.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Pair of carved ornaments with the Maize God
Date:5th–7th century
Geography:Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, or Belize, Mesoamerica
Culture:Maya
Medium:Shell
Dimensions:(Each ) H. 2 1/4 × W.1 7/8 × D. 1/8 in. (5.7 × 4.8 × 0.3 cm)
Classification:Shell-Ornaments
Credit Line:Purchase, Arthur M. Bullowa Bequest, 1995
Accession Number:1995.489a, b
[Helene and Philippe LeLoup, New York, 1959–1995]
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Jewelry: The Body Transformed," November 12, 2018–February 24, 2019.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art," November 14, 2022–April 2, 2023.
Kimbell Art Museum. "Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art," May 7–September 3, 2023.
Kamer, Hélène. Arts Pre-Columbiens. Paris: Henri Kamer Gallerie, Inc., 1971, pl. 49.
Pendergast, David. Excavations at Altun Ha, Belize, 1964–1970. Vol. vol. 2. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum, 1982, pp. 206–7, Figs. 109a–b.
Taube, Karl A. "The Classic Maya Maize God: A Reappraisal." In Fifth Palenque Round Table, 1983, edited by Virginia M. Fields. San Francisco: Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, 1985, pp. 171–81.
Carlson, Robert, and Martin Prechtel. "The Flowering of the Dead: An Interpretation of Highland Maya Culture." Man vol. 26, no. 1 (1991), pp. 23–42.
Taube, Karl A. The Major Gods of Ancient Yucatan. Studies in Pre-Columbian Art and Archaeology, Vol. no. 32. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1992.
Goldstein, Marilyn M., and Lourdes Suárez Diez. Conchas Precolombianas: Mesoamerican Art Created from Seashells. Brookville: Hillwood Art Museum, Long Island University, 1997, p. 73, no. 143.
Quenon, Michel, and Genevieve Le Fort. "Rebirth and Resurrection in Maize God Iconography." In The Maya Vase Book: A Corpus of Rollout Photographs of Maya Vases, edited by Justin and Barbara Kerr. New York: Kerr Associates, 1997, pp. 884–902.
Miller, Mary Ellen, and Marco Samayoa. "Where Maize May Grow: Jade, Chacmools, and the Maize God." Res: Anthropology and Aesthetics vol. 33 (1998), pp. 54–72.
Schmidt, Peter, Mercedes de la Garza, and Enrique Nalda. Maya: Exhibition at the Palazzo Grassi in 1998. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1998.
Taube, Karl A. "Lightning Celts and Corn Fetishes: The Formative Olmec and the Development of Maize Symbolism in Mesoamerica and the American Southwest." In Olmec Art and Archaeology in Mesoamerica, edited by John E. Clark, and Mary E. Pye. Washington, DC and New Haven: National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 2000, pp. 297–337.
Miller, Mary Ellen, and Simon Martin. Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. New York and San Francisco: Thames & Hudson Inc., 2004, pp. 52–58, 66–67, 69, Pl. 6, p. 136.
Fields, Virginia M., and Dorie Reents-Budet. Lords of Creation: The Origins of Sacred Maya Kingship. London and Los Angeles: Scala Publishers Limited, 2005.
Saturno, William A., Karl A. Taube, David Stuart, and Heather Hurst. The Murals of San Bartolo, El Petén, Guatemala. Part 1, the North Wall. Ancient America, No. 7. Barnardsville, NC: Center for Ancient American Studies, 2005.
Christenson Allen J. Popul Vuh: The Sacred Book of the Ancient Maya. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007.
Just, Bryan R. "Mysteries of the Maize God." Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University vol. 68 (2009), pp. 2–15.
Finamore, Daniel, and Stephen D. Houston, eds. Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea. Salem and New Haven: Peabody Essex Museum, 2010.
Taube, Karl A., William A. Saturno, and Heather Hurst. The Murals of San Bartolo, El Petén, Guatemala; Part 2: The West Wall. Ancient America, Vol. no. 10. Barnardsville, NC: Boundary End Archaeological Research Center, 2010.
Pillsbury, Joanne, Miriam Doutriaux, Reiko Ishihara-Brito, and Alexandre Tokovinine, eds. Ancient Maya Art at Dumbarton Oaks. Pre-Columbian Art at Dumbarton Oaks, no. 4. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2012.
Tokovinine, Alexandre. "Plate 81: Pair of Carved Ornaments." In Ancient Maya Art at Dumbarton Oaks, edited by Joanne Pillsbury, Miriam Doutriaux, Reiko Ishihara-Brito, and Alexandre Tokovinine. Pre-Columbian Art at Dumbarton Oaks, no. 4. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2012, pp. 44–43, fig. 254.
Henderson, Lucia. "Dualidades Singulares: Identificando Parejas De Escultores Y Esculturas En Kaminaljuyú, Guatemala, a Través De La Ilustración Arqueológica." In Xxvi Simposio De Investigaciones Arqueológicas En Guatemala, 2012, edited by Bárbara Arroyo, and Luis Méndez Salinas. Guatemala City: Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Asociacion Tikal, 2013, pp. 249–62.
Holcomb, Melanie, ed. Jewelry: The Body Transformed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018, pp. 112–15, pl. 92.
Chinchilla Mazariegos, Oswaldo, James Doyle, and Joanne Pillsbury, eds. Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022, p. 139, fig. 105A, B.
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