Codex-Style Vase with Mythological Scene

This detailed scene, created by one of the finest artists of the Classic Maya period (ca. 250–900), illuminates the lives of the gods and their role in the continuation of the world. The inscription below the rim refers to "raising" the "drinking cup" in an act of dedication and to the vessel’s owner as a "striker." The striker may be the elderly rain god Chahk, who wields a ceremonial axe in his left hand and places his right hand on a stone temple or palace that he has split open. The rain god cracking the roof of a structure, allowing the maize god to come to life, illustrates Maya myths about rain and agricultural cycles. To the right of the rain god, a serpent exits the structure and another elderly god issues from the serpent’s maw. This aged deity may represent the thunder god. Raindrops—shown as pairs or in threes in vertical lines across the vessel—perhaps suggest the start of the rainy season.

The narrative scene on this ceramic vessel is executed in the "codex style," so named for the calligraphic painting style associated with Maya manuscripts. The style was popular in the seventh and eighth centuries in regions now part of southern Mexico and northern Guatemala. The quality of the artist’s line makes this object among the best examples of ancient Maya vase painting. A youthful maize god stands before a broken temple with his arms raised and bent at the elbows, a position perhaps associated with royal office. The artist set up a striking comparison between the aged rain god and the youthful maize god, shown in robust good health, with an elegant profile and markings on his arm indicating shininess or beauty. The scene conveys a narrative underscoring the regenerative power of rain and the growth cycle of maize, the principal food crop of the ancient Maya.