Kneeling figure of a captive, performing

Dateca. 600 - 900

Label TextThis delicate figure depicts a seated dancer (whose loincloth indicates he is a captive) who gestures with one hand and shakes a rattle with the other. Mesoamerican instruments were of the percussive and melodic type, and from paintings and sculptures we know that the Maya used flutes, rattles, drums and trumpets made from ceramic, gourds, wood, and shell.

Object number99.75

Provenance[André Emmerich Gallery, New York], by 1968; purchased from gallery by John H. Hauberg (1916-2002), Seattle, Washington, 1968; to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1999

Exhibition HistorySeattle, 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.Published ReferencesArt Journal, vol. XXVII, no. 3 (Spring 1968): reproduced p. 303. Seattle Art Museum: Bridging Cultures, London: Scala Publishers Ltd. for the Seattle Art Museum, 2007, p. 35

Credit LineGift of John H. Hauberg

Dimensions5 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. (14.0 x 11.4 cm)

MediumCeramic with pigment