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405 N o t e s o f M i d d l e A m e r i c a n A r c h a e o l o g y a n d E t h n o l o g y Carnegie Institution of Washington Division of Historical Research No. 98 December 1, 1950 A polychrome maya plate from Quintana Roo Frans Blom In a private collection in Oaxaca City is a Maya plate which probably is one of the most magnificent pieces of Maya ceramics and certainly one of the most intriguing (Fig. 98.1a). It was found in Quintana Roo, Mexico, not far from Chetumal Bay. I am much indebted to the owners for permission to reproduce it; it was first called to my attention by Mr. Frederick A. Peterson. The plate measures 44 cm in diameter. Its surface is divided into two fields of equal size, the upper of which is covered with a multitude of figures and scrolls painted in black and brown with occasional red dots on an orange slip. The base is flat, the low sides are curved. The exterior of the base is slipped reddish orange, somewhat redder than the interior. The center of the scene is occupied by a bird, which I shall discuss later, flanked by two seated men, each holding a blowgun. So far as is known, this is the only representation of users of blowguns in Maya art, in spite of the fact that the Popol Vuh constantly refers to this weapon. The black spots on the blow gunners’ bodies indicate that the men are dead, Note the sights on the guns, I have made a quick but unsuccessful search of the Popol Vuh to find a passage which would describe this scene. The strange bird, the Moan, sometimes with a human head and sometimes with a bird head, is quite frequent in Maya art. It appears at least three times at Palenque, once at Tikal, and at Tonina the stucco relief over a temple door, described by Stephens, shows this bird from the front (Figs. 98,1,11; 98.2a, b, a). It is also depicted as a clay whistle which was 98.1. Polychrome Maya plate from Quintana Roo: (a) polychrome plate, with representations of blowgun users; (b) stucco design, the Palace, Palenque, after Maudslay (1889–1902); (c) pottery figurine whistle, Tonina. FrAns blom 406 found in a milpa at the foot of the slope where Tonina stands and which was given to me some years ago but is now in the Museo Nacional in Mexico City (Figs. 98.1c; 98.2c, j. Further search would no doubt reveal more representations. In the plate illustrated here, the bird sits on the head of the earth monster, shown in profile. The outstanding characteristic of this bird is its wing, part of which shows a serpent head in profile. Whatever head the bird may have, the serpent-head wings are always shown. The lower half of the plate has a border of hieroglyphs along its edge. I like to imagine that they are a quotation from the Popol Vuh. sAn CrisTobAl lAs CAsAs, ChiApAs 98.2. Representations of serpent-birds: (a) Temples of Cross and Foliated Cross, Palenque; after Maudslay (1889–1902); (b) wooden lintel, Tika1; after Maudslay (1889–1902); (c) detail of pottery figurine whistle (Fig. 98.2f); (d) stucco design over sanctuary, Structure A, Tonina. ...

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