Standing male figure, c. 800 AD ·  Mexico, Maya, Jaina Island · ID: 3050267

Description

terracotta, remains of painting, among others in the so-called “Maya Blue”, rest.

Jaina is a small island off the west coast of the Yucatán Peninsula that once served as an elite Maya burial site, and is now an important archaeological site for such exquisitely crafted figures.

Figures found here have become known as “Jaina-style figures”. Figurines of this style are also unearthed at inland Maya sites such as the Usumacinta River Delta.

Early Jaina-style figures are naturalistic, delicately detailed, and generally regarded as the finest figurine art produced throughout the ancient Americas. The figures can be solid or hollow. The latter predominate and are usually fitted with a whistle, or with clay pellets that produce a rattle-like sound.

All the figurines on Jaina Island seem to have been produced specifically as burial accompaniments.

Expertise

CIRAM, 0521-OA-310Z-2 (TL), Martillac, June 10, 2021

Comparing literature

Leyenaar, Ted u.a., Von Küste zu Küste, o.O. 1992, p. 356 f.

Notices

This object is subject to the UNESCO Cultural Heritage Protection Act. Export documents are required for export (subjected to a fee).