Incensario (incense burner) depicting the Sun god Kinich Ahau

Dateca. 300 - 600

Label TextGods of sun and rain were essential for agriculture-based societies—their names and symbols vary. The triangle over the head of this god and the bow-tie shape at the mouth are attributes passed down from the Teotihuacan culture to the Maya. Aromatic resin was burned in this container as a way for humans to communicate with the supernatural realm and its beings.

Object number77.13

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Art of the Ancient Americas, July 10, 1999 - May 11, 2003. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Feasting with the Gods: Art and Ceremony in Ancient Mesoamerica and the Central Andes, Dec. 11, 2003 - July 19, 2004. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Cosmic Beings in Mesoamerican and Andean Art, Nov. 10, 2018 - ongoing.

Credit LineMargaret E. Fuller Purchase Fund and the Floyd A. Naramore Memorial Purchase Fund

Dimensions8 13/16 × 13 3/8in. (22.4 × 34cm)

MediumCeramic