Head from a Figure

Culture: Maya
Period: Late Classic period, 600–909
Date: c.600–909
Material: Stucco with pigment
from: Mexico, North and Central America
Classification: Sculpture, stone & mineral
Collection: Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
Current Location: On View, Gallery 114
Dimensions: 12 3/16 x 8 1/4 x 6 1/4 in. (31 x 21 x 15.9 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Morton D. May
Rights: Public Domain
Object Number: 150:1979

NOTES

The dramatically sunken cheeks and mouth of this angular face define the head of an old man. The prominent blue color lends a supernatural cast, as though referencing the hue of highly prized blue-green jade instead of human skin. The Classic Maya pantheon was populated with a number of elderly deities. While revered for the wealth, power, and prestige often associated with old age, these attributes were not always respected. Such old, toothless gods were often contrasted with the idealized youth of deities like the Maize God, who were viewed with greater esteem.

Provenance

- 1967
Eugenia Alvarez, Mexico City and Cuernavaca, Mexico

1967 - 1979
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased from Eugenia Alvarez through agent Everett Rassiga [1]

1979 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [2]

Notes:
[1] An invoice dated December 22, 1967 from Eugenia Alvarez to Morton D. May documents this purchase, one of three objects listed as "Maya Stucco Head" [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].

[2] A letter dated July 5, 1979 from Morton D. May to James N. Wood, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, includes the offer of this object as part of a larger donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, October 10, 1979.

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