The Carnegie Maya IV: Carnegie Institution of Washington Theoretical Approaches to Problems, 1941-1947

No. 101. A Study of Three-Pronged Incense Burners From Guatemala and Adjacent Areas

416 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. 101 January 10, 1951 A Study of Three-pronged Incense Burners from Guatemala and Adjacent Areas Stephan F. de Borhegyi the other two have been broken off but scars indicate their position and basal diameter (8 cm). The reddish brown ware is well smoothed but unpolished. The paste is also reddish brown and liberally sprinkled with particles of white temper, presumably volcanic ash. A grotesque, conventionalized jaguar face with open mouth is depicted below the upper jaw of another jaguar or possibly serpent. The solid snouts of both animals and their sharply filed teeth are applied to the front wall of the vessel. The incisors of the upper face are tau-shaped and the corresponding teeth of the lower face, although broken, appear to have been similar. The large oval eyes, eyebrows, and lips are well modeled, probably of applied fillets. In addition , the face of the serpent-like creature is adorned with 10 spherical buttons, four of which are applied to parts of the upper lip, one above each eyebrow, one on either side of the eyes, and one on either side of the projecting snout, possibly as a representation of nostrils. The side flanges (30 cm long and 5 mm thick) are also applied and are adorned with three larger, flat, appliqué buttons (5 cm in diam.) evenly spaced along the length of each flange. Immediately behind each flange a round vent (7 cm in diam.) has been cut in the vessel wall and the edges carefully smoothed. Light vertical raking is visible on the back; horizontal striations encircle the interior. Covering the entire piece is a red slip; traces of a calcareous white wash are present on the eyes and teeth of both animals, the prongs, the bulging rim around the base, the top, and the less carefully smoothed posterior half. The short, blunt, beardlike Since the recent discussion (Note 97) of a group of cone-shaped effigy heads and three-pronged incense burners from the Preclassic period at Kaminaljuyu, the large archaeological site just outside Guatemala City, some interesting new specimens have come to light. Their study has brought about new concepts and filled several gaps unavoidably left open in the earlier report, as well as necessitated some slight alterations in the theories previously advanced. This study was made possible by a grant-in-aid from the Bollingen Foundation of New York, to which institution I am greatly indebted. Thanks go to Dr. A. V. Kidder for unfailing help and encouragement and to E. M. Shook and Heinrich Berlin for many helpful suggestions. The drawings were made by Sr. Antonio Oliveras of the Guatemala National Museum, photographs by Dr. Kidder (Figs. 101.1–101.3; 101.4a) and by Sr. Eugenio Escaler (Figs. 101.4b–6). The materials are in the Guatemala National Museum and in private collections in Guatemala. Little is known of their provenience or age. Many have passed from hand to hand, thereby losing all identity, and it is only recently that, in the organization of the collections of the museum, they have been recognized as members of this interesting type of incense burner. DESCRIpTIoN of mATERIAl 1.Large,cylindrical,three-prongedincenseburner (Fig.101.1).Onebadlydamagedsolidprongremains, A Study of Three-Pronged Incense Burners From Guatemala and Adjacent Areas 417 protuberance of the jaguar face bears traces of thin yellow paint. Between the two frontal prongs there may have been a connecting ridge. The flat top and the solid stump of the one remainingprongarefire -blackened.Thewell-smoothed interior shows no sign of fire or smoke. Dimensions: ht. (without prongs) 38, basal diam. 32, top diam. 18.5 cm. Provenience: Hartwell M. Webb collection, Guatemala National Museum, private coll. no. 9; believed to be from Kaminaljuyu. Comparative material: Several solid fragments of snouts, similar to that of the jaguar face, were found by Carnegie Institution at Kaminaljuyu. Apparently, these had been broken from similar incense burners. Chronological position: probably Late Preclassic, Miraflores phase. 101.1. Three-pronged incense burners from Guatemala. sTephAn F. de borheGYi 418 2. Fragments of a cylindrical three-pronged incense burner (Fig. 101.2). The...