Currently not on view

The Princeton Vase

y1975-17

On this side of the famous Maya chocolate-drinking cup known as the Princeton Vase, an old, toothless underworld god sits on a throne within a palace, represented by the pier behind him and a cornice above. Curtains, which were used as doors among the ancient Maya, have been pulled up to reveal the interior scene. This deity, known among scholars as God L, wears his characteristic shawl and a broadbrimmed hat bedecked with owl feathers and an owl. In addition to ruling the Maya underworld, God L was the patron deity of tobacco and merchants. Five elegant female figures—possibly concubines— surround him. A rabbit scribe, who might be spying on God L, sits below, writing in a book.

A standing woman with her head bent in concentration suggests that the viewer rotate the vase to the left. She holds a vessel similar in size and shape to the Princeton Vase, and a stream of liquid pours down from it, presumably into a vessel whose rendering has eroded. This method of preparation likely frothed the bitter chocolate beverage that this vessel was made to serve. The vertical pier or rear wall of a palace structure marks the boundaries of the overall composition on this vase, placing the selfreferential vignette of vessel use at the end of the scene, as a sort of addendum.

The most important moment in the narrative of the Princeton Vase appears on this side of the vessel. Two men wearing elaborate masks and wielding axes decapitate a bound and stripped figure, seen at the lower left; the victim’s serpent-umbilicus curls out to bite one of the executioners. The scene closely parallels a portion of the Popol Vuh, a sixteenth-century K’iche’ Maya mythological narrative in which the Hero Twins trick the lords of the underworld into requesting their own decapitations. As is common in mythological narratives throughout the Americas, these heroes win the day not through feats of brute strength but through cunning, and often humorous, trickery.

With graceful, sure lines painted on a cream slip, the Princeton Vase presents a story that stretches around the entire object. Because passing or turning the drinking cup is necessary for full comprehension of the narrative, subtle visual devices between the primary scenes encourage the viewer to rotate the vessel, creating a temporal unfolding of the visual experience. Here, for example, a young noblewoman taps the foot of the woman in front of her while turning her head in the opposite direction: she is between two scenes and encourages her companion (and thus the viewer) to shift her attention around the vase.

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Handbook Entry

The masterful calligraphic painting on the Princeton Vase is the finest known example of Maya "codex style" ceramic art. Graceful, sure lines painted on a cream slip present a theatrically composed mythological scene, while subtle visual devices encourage the viewer to turn the drinking vessel, adding a temporal unfolding to the visual experience. On one side (seen here), an old, toothless underworld god sits on a throne that is placed within a conventionalized depiction of a palace structure, represented by the pier behind him and what is likely a cornice above. The cornice is adorned with two jawless jaguars framing a frontal shark face. Curtains, which were used as doors among the ancient Maya, have been furled and tied to reveal the old lord seated within. This deity, known among scholars as God L, wears his characteristic open-weave brocaded shawl and broad-brimmed hat bedecked with owl feathers and a stuffed owl with wings outstretched. In addition to ruling Xibalba, the Maya underworld, God L was the patron deity of tobacco and merchants. Five elegant female figures — daughters or concubines — surround him. Each wears a loose, flowing sarong, decorated with batik-like dyed patterns rendered in soft brown wash, and jewelry at the ears, neck, and wrists. One of the women behind God L pours chocolate, frothing the bitter delicacy from a vessel of the same form as the Princeton Vase. A rabbit scribe, who may be spying on God L, sits below, recording the actions of the scene in a book with jaguar-pelt covers. God L delicately ties a bracelet on the woman before him, while another woman taps her foot to draw her attention—and the viewer’s—to the gruesome scene at left, in which two men wearing elaborate masks and wielding axes decapitate a bound and stripped figure. The victim’s serpent-umbilicus curls out to bite one of the executioners. The scene closely parallels a portion of the Popol Vuh, a sixteenth-century K’iche’ Maya mythological narrative wherein the Hero Twins trick the lords of the underworld into requesting their own decapitations. As is common in mythological narratives throughout the Americas, these heroes win the day not through Herculean feats of brute strength, but through cunning, and often humorous, trickery. The formulaic texts at the upper edge of the Princeton Vase serve to consecrate the vessel, to specify that it was intended for drinking "maize tree" chocolate, and to designate its owner, a lord named Muwaan K’uk’. The vase would have been used in courtly feasts similar to the scene depicted.

Information

Object Number

y1975-17

Medium

Ceramic with red, cream, and black slip, with remnants of painted stucco

Dates

A.D. 670–750

Dimensions

h. 21.5 cm., diam. 16.6 cm. (8 7/16 x 6 9/16 in.)

Culture

Maya ('Codex' style)

Credit Line

Museum purchase, gift of the Hans A. Widenmann, Class of 1918, and Dorothy Widenmann Foundation

Place Made

North America, Guatemala, Petén, Mirador Basin, Nakbé region

Type

drinking vessels, vases, ceramics

Subject

women, rabbits, jaguars, courts (social groups), banquets, scribes, gods, heroes, figures (representations), mythical or legendary beings, men, mythology, iconography, hieroglyphics

Materials

slip, ceramic, stucco

By April, 1971, Arte Primitivo, Inc. (William Kaplan), New York [1]; 1975, sold to the Princeton University Art Museum. Notes: [1] According to Robert Sonin archive, Notebook 3, Rolls 208-210. The slides are date-stamped April 1971. Additionally, the work was exhibited in the exhibition The Maya Scribe and His World at the Grolier Club, New York, from April 20 to June 5, 1971, according to installation photographs in the curatorial files.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/804680

Michael D. Coe, The Maya Scribe and His World (New York: The Grolier Club, 1973)., cat. no. 42, pp. 90–93

2567 1973

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3774452

"Acquisitions of the Art Museum 1975," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University, 35, no. 1 (1976): p. 22-31., p. 23 (illus.)

3366 1976

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3928095

Michael D. Coe, Lords of the Underworld: Masterpieces of Classic Maya Ceramics (Princeton: Princeton University Art Museum, 1978), cat. no. 1, 16–21 (illus.); cover

2568 1978

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5940951

Jill Leslie McKeever Furst and Peter T. Furst, Pre-Columbian Art of Mexico (New York: Abbeville Press, 1980)., pp. 82–87 (illus.)

2594 1980

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/9073379

Francis Robiscek, The Maya Book of the Dead: The Ceramic Codex (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Art Museum, 1981)., Vessel 1 (illus.)

2672 1981

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/11623862

Mary Ellen Miller, The Murals of Bonampak (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986)., fig. 38 (illus.)

2645 1986

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/13327308

Linda Schele and Mary E. Miller, The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art (New York and Fort Worth, George Braziller, Inc. and Kimbell Art Museum, 1986)., pl. 12 (illus.)

2678 1986

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/6451257

Gillett G. Griffin, "In Defense of the Collector," National Geographic vol. 169, no. 4 (April 1986): 462-465., pp. 462–465, p. 464 (illus.)

2784 1986

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/14244748

Allen Rosenbaum and Francis F. Jones, Selections from The Art Museum, Princeton University, (Princeton, NJ: The Art Museum, Princeton University, 1986), p. 55 (illus.)

1899 1986

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/77851364

Barbara Kerr and Justin Kerr, "Some Observations on Maya Vase Painters," in Maya Iconography, eds. Elizabeth P. Benson and Gillett G. Griffin (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988)., figs. 7.1, 7.3a, 7.4a, 7.5a, 7.6a, 7.7a, 7.8a and 7.9a, pp. 236–259 (illus.)

2639 1988

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19921358

Marvin Cohodas, "Transformations: Relationships between Image and Text in the Ceramic Paintings of the Metropolitan Master," in Word and Image in Maya Culture: Explorations in Language, Writing, and Representation, ed. William F. Hanks and Don S. R (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1989)., fig. 14.3, pp. 198–231 (illus. rollout)

2574 1989

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19922701

Terence Grieder, Artist and Audience (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1990)., fig. 421, p. 300 (illus.)

2786 1990

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/24907462

Michael Olmert, Smithsonian Book of Books (Washington: Smithsonian Books, 1992)., pp. 34–35

2785 1992

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48103441

Gregorio Arribas and Manuel Pijoan, trans., Los Reinos Perdidos de los Mayas (Barcelona/Washington D.C.: RBA Publications/National Geographic Society, 1993)., pp. 56–57 (illus.)

2522 1993

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/27012239

Gene S. Stuart and George E. Stuart, Lost Kingdoms of the Maya (Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1993)., pp. 56–57 (illus. rollout)

2703 1993

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28294829

Sophie D. Coe, America's First Cuisines (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994)., cover (illus.), p. 142

2571 1994

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28632069

Dorie Reents-Budet, Painting the Maya Universe: Royal Ceramics of the Classic Period (Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1994)., fig. 2.4, cat. no. 89, p. 39 (illus.); pp. 356–357 (illus.); fig. 2.26, pp. 57 (illus.)

2665 1994

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1695247

Steve J. Stern, "The Tricks of Time: Colonial Legacies and Historical Sensibilities inLatin America," Princeton University Library Chronicle, vol. LVII, no. 3, (Spring 1996): 373., p. 353 (illus.)

2787 1996

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/38068915

Michael D. Coe and Justin Kerr, The Art of the Maya Scribe (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1997)., fig. 84, p. 110 (illus.)

2570 1997

https://www.jstor.org/stable/40514490

Adam Herring, "A Royal Artist at Naranjo: Notes on a Late Classic Maya Cylinder Vessel," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (1995-1996): 34-47., fig. 3, pp. 34–47 (illus. rollout)

2611 1997

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39706906

Caroline E. Tate, "Writing on the face of the moon: Women's products, archetypes, and power in ancient Maya civilization," in Manifesting Power: Gender and the Interpretation of Power in Archaeology, ed. Tracey Sweely (London; New York: Routledge, 1999)., fig. 5.2, pp. 81–102 (illus.)

2705 1999

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/45989737

Nikolai Grube, ed., Maya: Gottkönige im Regenwald (Köln: Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft, 2000)., Appendix title page (illus.)

2955 2000

https://www.jstor.org/stable/971742

Terry G. Powis et al., "Spouted Vessels and Cacao Use among the Preclassic Maya," Latin American antiquity 13, no. 1 (2002): 85-106., fig. 8b, pp. 85–106 (illus.)

2659 2002

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61710274

Daniel Schávelzon, Treinta siglos de imágenes : maquetas y representaciones de arquitectura en México y América Central prehispánica (Buenos Aires: Ediciones Fundación CEPPA, 2004)., p. 192 (illus. rollout drawing)

2677 2004

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/54799516

Mary E. Miller and Simon Martin, Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya (San Francisco: Fine Arts Museum of San Fransisco, 2004)., pl. 32 (and rollout), 76–77 (illus.)

2924 2004

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3774829

Allen Rosenbaum, "'Gillett and Me': How a Eurocentric Museum Director Learned to Love Pre-Columbian Art," Record of the Princeton University Art Museum 64 (2005): 8-19., fig. 1, p. 8; fig. 2, p. 9; fig. 3, p. 10

2745 2005

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3774836

Barbara Kerr and Justin Kerr, "The Way of God L: The Princeton Vase Revisited," Record of the Princeton University Art Museum 64 (2005): 71-79., p. 71, figs. 1–2; p. 72, fig. 3; p. 74, fig. 6; p. 78, fig. 15

2747 2005

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61660268

Stephen D. Houston, David Stuart, and Karl Taube, The Memory of Bones: Body, Being, and Experience among the Classic Maya (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2006)., p. 108

2616 2006

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/191864564

Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), 172 (illus.)

474 2007

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29789840

Erik Velásquez García, "El Vaso de Princeton: Un ejemplo del estilo códice," Arqueología Mexicana 16, no. 93 (Oct., 2008): 51-59., pp. 51–59 (illus.)

2720 2008

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/271452657

"Mysteries of the Maya: the rise, glory and collapse of an ancient civilization," National Geographic Collector's Edition (Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2008)., p. 95 (illus.)

2927 2008

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/847466857

Ana García Barrios, "Chaahk, el Dios de la Lluvia, en el Periodo Clásico Maya: Aspectos Religiosos y Políticos" (PhD diss. unpublished, Universidad Compultense de Madrid, 2008)., fig. 1.55 (illus.)

2947 2008

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29789840

"Los Codices Mayas", in Códices prehispánicos y coloniales tempranos, (Mexico, D.F.: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2009). , p. 10-11 (illus.)

2520 2009

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/230730263

Stephen D. Houston et al., Veiled Brightness: A History of Ancient Maya Color (Austin, University of Texas Press, 2009)., fig. 1.1b (illus. rollout)

2617 2009

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/658198379

Sarah E. Jackson, "Imagining Courtly Communities: An Exploration of Classic Maya Experiences of Status and Identity through Painted Ceramic Vessels," Ancient Mesoamerica 20, no. 1 (Spring, 2009): p. 71-85., fig. 7, pp. 71–85 (illus. rollout line drawing)

2620 2009

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44780248

Erik Velásquez García, "Reflections on the Codex Style and the Princeton Vessel," The PARI Journal 10, no. 1 (2009): 1-16., p. 1–16

2721 2009

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29789840

Stephen D. Houston and Karl A. Taube, "La sexualidad entre los antiguos mayas," Arqueología Mexicana 18, no. 104 (Jul.-Aug., 2010): p. 38-45., p. 43 (illus.)

2614 2010

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/839045723

Justin Kerr, "The Maya Cylinder: A Short History Unrolled," in Adventures in Pre-Columbian Studies: Essays in Honor of Elizabeth P. Benson, ed. Julie Jones (Washington D.C.: Pre-Columbian Society of Washington, D.C.): 99-118., fig. 2

2637 2010

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/720374055

Marc Zender, "Baj 'Hammer' and Related Affective Verbs in Classic Mayan," The PARI Journal 11, no. 2 (2010): 1-16., fig. 3b, pp. 10–16 (illus. line detail drawing)

2733 2010

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/810947235

Bryan R. Just, Dancing into Dreams: Maya Vase Painting of the Ik' Kingdom (Princeton, Princeton University Art Museum, 2012)., fig. 71b, p. 137

2627 2012

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/865020505

Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collections (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Art Museum, 2013), p. 222

1994 2013

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/795909454

Alexandre Tokovinine and Dmitri Beliaev, “People of the Road: Traders and Travelers in Ancient Maya Words and Images,” in Merchants, Markets, and Exchange in the Pre-Columbian World, Kenneth G. Hirth and Joanne Pillsbury, eds., (Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 2013), pp. 169–200 , p. 187

6723 2013

https://www.jstor.org/stable/23645680

Daniela Soleri, Marcus Winter, Steven R. Bozarth, and W. Jeffrey Hurst, "Archaeological Residues and Recipes: Exploratory Testing for Evidence of Maize and Cacao Beverages in Postclassic Vessels from the Valley of Oaxaca," Latin American antiquity 24, no. 3 (2013): p. 345-362., fig. 1, p. 348 (illus. detail drawing)

2689 2013

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/919237012

Alejandra Martínez de Velasco Cotrina and María Elena Vega Villalobos, eds. The Maya: Voices in Stone, 2nd ed. (Mexico City; Madrid: Turner/Ámbar Diseño, A ́mbar Disen~o: Universidad Nacional Auto ́noma de Me ́xico: Turner, 2015)., fig. 193 (illus.)

6331 2015

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1110583597

Matthew Looper, The Beast Between: Deer in Maya Art and Culture (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2019) , Fig. 1.1 (illus.)

9695 2019