Kneeling figure of a captive, performing
ca. 600 - 900
This 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.
Ceramic with pigment
5 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. (14.0 x 11.4 cm)
Gift of John H. Hauberg
99.75
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