Painted Vase with Ruler and Scribe

600–900

Painted Vase with Ruler and Scribe, 600–900. Guatemala, Northern Peten or Mexico, Southern Campeche, Maya, Late Classic, 7th-10th Century. Pottery with burnished, colored slips; overall: 24.5 x 10.5 cm (9 5/8 x 4 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener 1990.181 Among Maya noble families, finely painted ceramic vessels were used as fancy tableware, treasured gifts that secured the support of allies, and funerary offerings placed in tombs. Accordingly, the vessels’ imagery varies from religious themes to scenes of courtly life. Here, two attendants kneel before an enthroned nobleman who wears an enormous bird-head headdress. A string of death glyphs below the rim departs from the Primary Standard Sequence.